Hi everyone, I’m Ally
I’m wearing a typical outfit from the late Ming Dynasty, which is around the 16th to 17th century
The top is a long shirt with a standing collar also known as a Mandarin collar
I have done a video explaining the history of the standing collar, check it out if you want to learn more
I’m pairing it with a Ma Mian skirt which translates to horse face skirt
It’s the single most representative skirt of the Ming Dynasty
In this video, I will talk a little bit on the history of this skirt
what’s the meaning behind the name, and show you how to wear it
Ma Mian Qun literarily means Horse Face Skirt
but it actually has nothing to do with a horse’s face
The term ‘ma mian’ in ancient China has another meaning
It refers to the defensive structure that projects outward on city walls, which are located at regular intervals
A Ming Dynasty scholar labelled the rectangular area of the skirt ma mian because it looks like the structure
And today we call this type of skirt ma mian skirt
When the skirt is laid flat, we can see three such structures
We call it qun men or skirt door today
With another door hiding behind in the center, there are four doors in total
but only two are visible when it’s worn on the body
The pleats in between the doors are facing each other
Ma mian skirt is a one piece skirt which wraps around the body
But it’s made by attaching two pieces of fabric on the same waist band
There is another type of two piece skirt on the market today
This skirt from my previous episode is an example of it
It’s a modern design that comes in standardized sizes like ready-to-wear clothing
But there is no archeological findings of this design
The ma mian skirt was worn throughout the 276 years of the Ming Dynasty
In the beginning it had fewer pleats. Later on fancy decorations were added to the knee area
The patterns moved lower on the skirt over time
By the late Ming Dynasty, single colored skirts with minimum or no embroideries became popular
There are many ma mian skirt artifacts today, most of which are well preserved
We can see a wide range of colors, designs, lengths, door widths, and the number of pleats
I am wearing a Ming Dynasty style under vest
This is a Song Dynasty style under skirt called Gan Shang Qun
Some people believe it’s the origin of ma mian skirt. I’ll talk about that in another video
To wear the ma mian skirt, make sure the front door is in the center
And if the door width on the sides are different, put the wider one on the inside
Pull up the inside and fold it down
The fabric of my skirt is a mix of cotton and linen
It’s quite heavy, so it won’t be easy for wind to lift the skirt
Nevertheless, ancient people always wore a skirt or pants underneath the outer layer skirt
You would never see bare legs
There are many artifacts of the standing collar long shirt or jacket as well
From plain single colored shirts
to formal attire with fancy and heavy embroideries.
This combination of standing collar long shirt and ma mian skirt is common in paintings during the late Ming Dynasty
The trend later passed down to the Qing Dynasty
In contrary, Qing Dynasty skirts tend to have prominent decorations on the skirt door
Eventually the standing collar long shirt merged with the Manchurian dress and became a popular outfit for Qing Dynasty ladies
This Ming Dynasty style standing collar shirt is made of strong yet sheer fabric, with a breathable jacquard design
It has large wide sleeves, and a standing or Mandarin collar
The shirt folds to the right and is secured by ties
First fold the right panel to the left and tie it
then fold the outer layer to the right
Each dynasty has its own culture
This Ming Dynasty outfit allows us to take a peek into ancient ladies’ reserved, refined, and graceful lifestyle