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Cheongsam(Qipao) is a female dress with
distinctive Chinese features and enjoys a growing popularity
in the international world of fashion. This body-hugging
dress for women in China originating from the Manchus
in the early 17th century, modernized and improved in
Shanghai around 1900.
The name "cheongsam," stands for "long
dress," comes from the dialect of China's Guangdong
Province (Cantonese). In other parts of the country
including Beijing, however, it is known as "qipao".
Easy and comfortable to wear, cheongsam fits well
the Chinese female figure. Its high neck, closed collar,
and its sleeves may be either short, medium or full
length, depending mainly on season and taste. The
dress is buttoned on the right or lefr side, with
a loose chest, a fitting waist, and slits up from
the sides, all of which combine to set off the beauty
of the female shape.
The cheongsam is not too complicated to make. Not
only it calls for little material, but also for there
are no accessories like belts, scarves, sashes or
frills. Besides its simplicity, Qipao provides designers
with vast and creative space: some short, some long,
with low, high, or even no collars at all.
Today, with its variety of styles, more and more
women in China appreciate its beauty. In many occasions,
cheongsam is their first choice among dresses. Actually,
lots of influential people have suggested that this
kind of dress should become the national dress for
women in China. This shows that it remains an important
part of Chinese culture. |