During the Republican Period
Chinese’s desire and pursuit of fashion was beyond your imagination
It was crazy
People tend to look to the west
Ignoring our own amazing fashion culture in the past
I love studying fashion history
I’m now collecting, sorting out and spreading knowledge about fashion during the Republican Period
In the 1910s, the trend of fashion came into shape in Shanghai
The word “shimao” (fashionable in Chinese) was first used
To describe girls in the whorehouses and opera stars 10 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:43,439 They wore clothes of various styles
Although good girls despised them
They couldn’t resist the temptation and started to imitate them
In the short period of 38 years
Changing times facilitated the birth of stunning styles
In the 1910s
Slim and narrow clothes were popular
And the exaggerating Yuanbao collar
Which could be as high as parallel to the nose
It’s laughingly called “amazing face-slimming tool from the Republican Period”
In the 1920s, women’s liberation movement began
There was a storming “collar-removing” revolution
Big sleeves exposed their arms
Qipao didn’t become the mainstream until the 1930s
Hard high collars like bamboo tubes were popular
There were 4 to 5 rolls of button on it
Wrapping up the neck tightly
With or without sleeves, the long dresses could cover their feet
The icon was Ruan Lingyu, a renowned movie star
They no longer hid their breasts, and were not shy to show their body curve
Lots of female stars even stuffed cotton into their bras
After the war broke out
Qipao became shorter in the 1940s
Shoulder pads were adopted to increase women’ sizes
Zhang Ailing once described shoulder pads
As “as square and big as a bed”
Women then also have showy haircuts
Which was a symbol of female power in the society
The Victory Curls was inspired
By the 360-degree turn of fighters
Long-distance Love was a metaphor of lovers who were separated because of the war
Fortune at first sight looks like a yuanbao at the back
There was also one style looking like the building of Shanghai International Hotel
Actually when people mention fashion during the Republic period
Their first thought would be Qipao
The dress which nicely fit women’s body is even a symbol of female materialization
It was actually not the case back to then
Qipao was an imitation of men’s cheongsam
To show gender equality
Actually throughout the fashion history
The image of Chinese women started as weak and fragile
Now they look more and more independent and graceful
We should pay attention to what’s behind the fashion culture
The long and hard path of women striving for social rights and freedom of dressing
Since my graduation from college
I have been supporting my hobby of collecting and spreading knowledge
By my earning as a fashion illustrator
I thumb through old magazines, and watch old pictures and movies
There’s no shortcut
Most of my collection is from the folk
From old inhabitants
There’re around a hundred in total
They have the most classic styles
This is from Mr. Zhou Shoujuan’s old house in Suzhou
He was a representative of Yuanyang Hudie School
Patterns of ripple, lightning, rhombus and oval
They were the most fashionable and modern geometric elements then
The fabrics and designs in the Republic Period were exquisite
You can only see many details in specific angles
Metallic threads were woven into the lace dress in the 1930s
It shines under light
The see-through clothes were really bold
Yang Naimei, a celebrity at that time
She led a bold fashion style
She wore it to a ball with a cloak
And when she took off the cloak, people could see the prints inside
Dresses were made according to the person’s size then
So they said when you saw the clothes, you saw the person
Each piece shows the owner’s understanding about beauty
The patterns and matches all require efforts
Everyone has their own expression
The aesthetic standards were dull
And even rigid
But women in reality were beautiful in different ways
Now we’re in a time when aesthetic standards are diversified
But what we see are same faces in real life
We should think about it
In 2018, an old man suffered from kidney disease had to sell his mother’s clothes
Which had been kept for nearly a hundred years
They were nearly brand new, and I was really touched
It’s not only a piece of clothes
It’s a bond of inheritance
Actually
All of these are in our Chinese’s blood, in our genes
I hope that I can let more people know about the unique beauty of that time