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		<title>The Vicissitudes of Shanghai Style Costume</title>
		<link>http://www.chineseclothing.org/the-vicissitudes-of-shanghai-style-costume/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=the-vicissitudes-of-shanghai-style-costume</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:02:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Qipao Cheongsam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chinese Dress & Qipao]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Cheongsam: Classical Shanghai Style Originally the cheongsam was a kind of broad-sleeved and baggy robe worn by Manchurian women. This style went on for about 300 years without any change. But it wasn&#8217;t until the 1920s that the cheongsam began to be popular among people all over the country, due to the influence of Occidental fashion, which changed the cheongsam&#8217;s style in ways such as reducing the length and tightening the waistline. The style of the cheongsam The style of the cheongsam in the 1930s, absorbing the peculiarity of western dress into the traditional Chinese dress, became a combination of Chinese and Western dresses, which brought forth new ideas and changed continuously, led by Shanghai. The style of the cheongsam During the 1930s and 1940s, Chinese modern couture (fashion) reached its peak, with the 1930s in particular being the gorgeous pinnacle. At that time, the cheongsam became the representative and typical attire. Overnight, the cheongsam, formed in the Shanghai style that is modern in touch and Chinese in feel, came into fashion all over the country and even the world. The lifestyle of Shanghai&#8217;s swelldom (people of rank and fashion) and gentlefolk (prominent families) followed the fashion and enjoyed luxury, enjoying Western leisures such as swimming, promenades, dance and golf. Influenced by the Occidental fashion, the cheongsam became more slender, slinky, and skintight with a high kick pleat (allowing the wearer to walk easily) so as to match the delicate and lively figure of the Shanghai women in the 1930s. The cheongsam of that time had two traits: combining Chinese with Western style and varying a lot. Elegant ladies, including movie starts and noblewomen, had many different ways to wear the cheongsam: a partial Western style with a matching surcoat (an outside coat of rich material). Partial western style meant that the collar and sleeves were tailored according to the western-style fashion&#8217;s craft such as the lapel, lotus-leaf-like sleeves, flouncing lap and so on. The style of the cheongsam However, the majority of women preferred to wear the cheongsam with a western-style costume, such as, for example, wearing a cheongsam with a western-style coat, fur coat, or woolen coat and vest outside. Or the women would tie a scarf around the cheongsam or attach fancy decorations to the dress. All of these styles could show the women&#8217;s brilliant and charming figure. Neatness was a new trend of the cheongsam in the 1940s, reflected most progressively in summer, when the cheongsam generally was sleeveless, shorter in both length and collar height, and not over-laden with decorations, which made it lighter and more suitable for the body. At the same time, the slender cheongsam, with a woman&#8217;s marcel (deep wavy hair), silk stockings, high-heeled shoes, necklaces, earbobs (earrings) and handbags, was the most fashionable attire for women. Later, a kind of improved cheongsam with western tailoring craft developed, which made the cheongsam more fitted and applicable. The cheongsam, then, turned into a Chinese national dress with a unique style. It can be said that without modern Shanghai&#8217;s opening to the world or the combination of the Chinese and Occidental cultures, there would be neither the Western-style cheongsam nor the Shanghai-style cheongsam.]]></description>
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		<title>Chinese Silk and it&#8217;s Silk Road</title>
		<link>http://www.chineseclothing.org/chinese-silk-and-its-silk-road/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=chinese-silk-and-its-silk-road</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:35:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Qipao Cheongsam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chinese Culture]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[It is well known that silk is discovered in China as one of the best materials for clothing &#8211; it has a look and feeling of richness that no other materials can match. However, very few people know when or where or how it is discovered. Actually, it could date back to the 30th Century BC when Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) came into power. There are many legends about the discovery of silk; some of them are both romantic and mysterious. Legend has it that once there lived a father with his daughter, they had a magic horse, which could not only fly in the sky but also understand human language. One day, the father went out on business and did not come back for quite some time. The daughter made him a promise: If the horse could find her father, she would marry him. Finally her father came back with the horse, but he was shocked at his daughter&#8217;s promise. Unwilling to let his daughter marry a horse, he killed the innocent horse. And then miracle happened! The horse&#8217;s skin carried the girl flying away. They flew and flew, at last, they stopped on a tree, and the moment the girl touched the tree, she turned into a silkworm. Everyday, she spit long and thin silks. The silks just represented her feeling of missing him. Another less romantic but more convincing explanation is that some ancient Chinese women found this wonderful silk by chance. When they were picking up fruits from the trees, they found a special kind of fruit, white but too hard to eat, so they boiled the fruit in hot water but they still could hardly eat it. At last, they lost their patience and began to beat them with big sticks. In this way, silks and silkworms were discovered. And the white hard fruit is a cocoon! The business of raising silkworms and unwinding cocoons is now known as silk culture or sericulture. It takes an average of 25-28 days for a silkworm, which is no bigger than an ant, to grow old enough to spin cocoon. Then the women farmers will pick them up one by one to piles of straws, then the silkworm will attach itself to the straw, with its legs to the outside and begin to spin. The next step is unwinding the cocoons; it is done by reeling girls. The cocoons are heated to kill the pupae, this must be done at the right time, otherwise, the pupas are bound to turn into moths, and moths will make a hole in the cocoons, which will be useless for reeling. To unwind the cocoons, first put them in a basin filled with hot water, find the loose end of the cocoon, and then twist them, carry then to a small wheel, thus the cocoons will be unwound. At last, two workers measure them into a certain length, twist them, they are called raw silk, then they are dyed and woven into cloth. An interesting fact is that we can unwind about 1,000 meters long silk from one cocoon, while 111 cocoons are needed for a man&#8217;s tie, and 630 cocoons are needed for a woman&#8217;s blouse. Chinese people developed new way by using silk to make clothes since the discovery of silk. This kind of clothes became popular soon. At that time, China&#8217;s technology was developing fast. Emperor Wu Di of western Han Dynasty decided to develop trade with other countries. To build a road becomes priority to trade silk. For nearly 60 years of war, the world famous ancient Silk Road was built up at cost of many losses of life and treasures. It started from Chang&#8217;an (now Xi&#8217;an), across Middle Asia, South Asia and West Asia. Many countries of Asia and Europe were connected. From then on, Chinese silk, along with many other Chinese inventions, were passed to Europe. Romans, especially women, were crazy for Chinese silk. Before that, Romans used to make clothes with linen cloth, animal skin and wool fabric. Now they all turned to silk. It was a symbol of wealth and high social status for them to wear silk clothes. One day, an Indian monk came to visit the Emperor. This monk had been living in China for several years and knew the method of raising silkworms. The Emperor promised a high profit of the monk, the monk hid several cocoons in his cane and took it to Rome. Then, the technology of raising silkworms spread out. Thousands of years have passed since China first discovered silkworms. Nowadays, silk, in some sense, is still some kind of luxury. Some countries are trying some new ways to make silk without silkworms. Hopefully, they can be successful. But whatever the result, nobody should forget that silk was, still is, and will always be a priceless treasure. Written by our column writer Hao Zhuo.]]></description>
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		<title>How to Celebrate Chinese New Year of 2012</title>
		<link>http://www.chineseclothing.org/how-to-celebrate-chinese-new-year-of-2012/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=how-to-celebrate-chinese-new-year-of-2012</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:34:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Qipao Cheongsam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chinese Dress & Qipao]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Chinese New Year, or Chinese Spring Festival, ["holds the most significant position among all Chinese festivals and holidays."It's also called the Chinese Lunar New Year, because its date is determined by the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls sometime from late January to late February and varies from year to year. The celebration lasts 15 days. There are many exciting things happening during this New Year. If you want to participate in the celebrations, there are many things you can do to join the festivities and to pay homage to Chinese traditions; the Chinese people have many ways to celebrate this special time of the year, such as putting money in red envelopes to give to children; writing Chinese lucky symbol Fu and putting it on the door. Steps 1 Research Chinese New Year. If you're already familiar with the Chinese New Year, take a little time to learn some more about it. It's a very significant holiday in Chinese culture and the festivities extend over a period of two weeks. The Chinese New Year is accompanied by a belief in good fortune, and there are many decorations around to herald the new year Step 2 Clean your home in time for New Year. This tradition is founded in the belief that cleaning the house at this time of year will "sweep away the bad luck" that has accumulated inside over the past year.[2] Cleaning also makes the house ready for the good luck to start entering again. Put away dustpans and brooms so that the good luck won&#8217;t be swept away after cleaning. Keeping fresh and hygienic is also an important part of celebrating; even a new haircut will do. Be aware! Do not clean your home during the New Year, such as sweeping or wiping the windows. To do so is to &#8220;sweep away&#8221; the good luck you&#8217;ve just received for the New Year. Over the following 13 to 15 days, you&#8217;re relieved of cleaning duties. It may be a little dirtier than usual but it is an important part of observing the tradition.]]></description>
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		<title>Distinguished Peony Embroidered Silk Cheongsam</title>
		<link>http://www.chineseclothing.org/distinguished-peony-embroidered-silk-cheongsam/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=distinguished-peony-embroidered-silk-cheongsam</link>
		<comments>http://www.chineseclothing.org/distinguished-peony-embroidered-silk-cheongsam/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Qipao Cheongsam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chinese Dress & Qipao]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[polyvore]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Distinguished Peony Embroidered Silk Cheongsam (clipped to polyvore.com)]]></description>
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		<title>Aristocratic Peony Embroidered Cashmere Jacket</title>
		<link>http://www.chineseclothing.org/aristocratic-peony-embroidered-cashmere-jacket/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=aristocratic-peony-embroidered-cashmere-jacket</link>
		<comments>http://www.chineseclothing.org/aristocratic-peony-embroidered-cashmere-jacket/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:43:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Qipao Cheongsam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chinese Dress & Qipao]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chinese red cashmere jacket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fashion]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Yves Saint Laurent]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Aristocratic Peony Embroidered Cashmere Jacket by sinkice featuring suede heels Yves Saint Laurent suede heels$795&#160;-&#160;net-a-porter.com frame square redhome.comcast.net Oriental Wool Pantseaststore.com Aristocratic Peony Embroidered Cashmere Jacketeaststore.com]]></description>
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