MyStory

This Cheong Sam was sewn by a famous Shanghainese tailor. With his fine and intricate workmanship, his beautiful Cheong Sams commanded high prices. Situated at Bras Basah Road, his shop, “Dock Han Meng”, was jointly run by both husband and wife. About Cheongsam

Cheongsam is a type of Chinese traditional costume. It means long dress in Cantonese and is originated from Manchuria during the Qing Dynasty. It was their costume known as Qi Fu, a straight cut long dress with collar. The materials used were either brocades or silk. The Manchurian ladies wore this with long pants beneath the Qi Fu. The men's were known as Chang Shang (长衫) which were also worn together with long pants. Their is straight down cut with no waist line and the length is right up to the ankle, which is different from the women's.

Later on, Shanghai adopt the fashion of Cheongsam. The beautiful elegant Shanghainese ladies wore a type of Cheongsam known as Qi Pao (旗袍) either with a high slit to enable them to walk or with dress length below the knees. Long Qi Pao are worn during special occasions whereas shorter Qi Pao are for casual wears.

Shanghai manufactures the best silk materials from Hang Chow where best silk are produced. These manufacturers use either silk or lacey materials.

The fashion of Qi Pao are spreaded to other parts of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and some western countries.

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Article migrated from original My Story Portal 2007.
Author. Mantou28