Author Topic: Dress decolonization  (Read 5914 times)

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #75 on: May 13, 2022, 09:10:14 pm »
https://www.yahoo.com/news/am-choosing-literally-wear-chinese-130036049.html

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a memory of my first job as a community organizer in San Francisco in the spring of 2002. “Racist fashion’s got to go!” I chanted, assembled with hundreds of Asian American protesters on Market Street. We raised our voices against retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for releasing a series of graphic tees with Asian stereotypes, like “Wong Brothers Laundry Service ― Two Wongs Can Make it White” and “Buddha Bash ― Get Your Buddha on the Floor.”

Then, too, my parents told me — in equal parts pride and worry — to keep them posted on our campaign. “Stay safe outside on the streets,” they said.

The risk of asserting myself felt urgent back then. And, today, I’ve decided anew that being nondescript and subtle will not protect me. The truth is, just showing my face in America has been enough to make me a target for harassment or attack on the street in the middle of the day. I’ve decided I’m acting on a conscious dare of standing firm in my identity, not shrinking from it. I’m resisting my vulnerability with visibility.
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Recently I’ve made another, more surprising, sartorial choice: I started searching online for vintage Chinese dresses and integrating them into my at-home ensembles and my emerging post-pandemic wardrobe. A cheongsam, translated as “long dress” in Cantonese, is a sheath dress with a high mandarin collar and asymmetrical opening fastened by interlocking knotted buttons and loops of hua niu, or flower buttons. In my cheongsams, I can put myself together even when I feel fragmented, struggling to process being both Chinese and American in a country that has always had anti-Asian racism coursing through its veins.

I’ve acquired 15 of these iconic dresses from secondhand shops, boutiques and vintage stores. Each figures prominently in my power-up wardrobe, making a conscious statement about my heritage, my culture, my visibility and my pride.


Thank you for at least making an effort. However, note that the dresses you bought are already Westernized versions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam#History

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The predecessor of the more well known qipao resembled the men’s changpao. The changpao was a long gown commonly associated with the male literati class. The first 1920s iteration was androgynous and had a “wide, angular and puritanical cut”[8]

In other words, the original versions were low in sexual dimorphism. But then:

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According to the Clothing Regulations, the cheongsam needed to be worn with trousers and be calf-length, but with the introduction of Western fashion many people replaced trousers with stockings and added matching accessories. The side slits were re-purposed into an aesthetic design reaching the top of the thighs to reflect the new fashion trend. By the 1940s, trousers had completely fallen out of use, replaced by different type of hosiery. High-heeled shoes were another fashion trend introduced to Shanghai at the same time, and it became an essential part of cheongsam fashion set, which continued into modern days.[13] As trend of hosiery in turn declined in later decades, women started to wear cheongsam more commonly with bare legs. While this development settled the cheongsam as a one-piece dress, by contrast, the related Vietnamese áo dài retained trousers.

The modernized version of cheongsam is noted for accentuating the figures of women, and as such was popular as a dress for high society. As Western fashions evolved, so does the cheongsam design, with introduction of high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves, and the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsam came in a wide variety of fabrics with an equal variety of accessories.

Westernization leads to increased sexual dimorphism every time.

Before Westernization:



After Westernization:



See the difference?

If you are serious about decolonizing your wardrobe, go for the pre-Westernized versions!