The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women, young ladies and girls. It is also right to call for English speakers to refer to it as Mandarin gown.
The stylish and often tight-fitting cheongsam or qipao (chipao) that is best known today was created in the 1920’s in Shanghai and made fashionable by socialites and upper class women.
In this 21st Century, the Cheongsam has been elevated as the Chinese traditional gown. It is not uncommon to see queens, princesses, models and actresses wearing this lovely dress we may call the ‘Pride of China’.
In honor of Cheongsam, Chinese women now have a dance that goes by the same name.
In the pictures below taken on March 8, 2016 some women presented cheongsam during a cheongsam show in celebration of the International Women’s Day in Liuzhou, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
With the rise of Chinese economy, Cheongsam gained relevance in the fashion world. Many western designers integrated elements of Cheongsam in their costume designing. French designer Pierre Cardin once admitted that Cheongsam was his inspiration of many evening dress designing.
In more and more films and movies, Cheongsam are also used to make an exotic impression. Like in the 2011 movie One Day, Anne Hathaway wore a set of dark blue Cheongsam as evening dress, which won her an extensive appreciation.
Many western stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Nicole Kidman, Paris Hilton, Emma Watson, and Celine Dion also made their public appearance in Cheongsam.
Isn’t sexy the word?
