Every time the Lunar New Year approaches, our thoughts turn to the classic cheongsam. It’s a garment rich with lore—both imagined and authentic—and one that adds romanticism to our yearly rituals of greetings and gambling, angpao and overeating, cookies and gossiping.
Ah yes, the cheongsam or qipao, our ancestral costume, the clothing of our forebears—but was it really? Is the outfit that we instinctively associate with Chinese New Year and cultural traditions really that traditional?
The truth is, very few know. Some history points or long robes of the Qing Dynasty. Either way, contrary to our misty-eyed nostalgia, the cheongsam is a deeply modern piece of clothing. In every iteration we’ve seen it, from fashion illustrations of the 1920s to Maggie Cheung’s iconic turn in , the cheongsam has adapted styles, borrowed elements, and shape-shifted to suit the styles of the times in a way that has never corrupted its intrinsic beauty.
