cheongsam

well, today is officially the start of the new year....because my spouse is chinese and i hold to the traditions of jewish and celtic calendars the lunar new year represents more significance in our household. in chinese culture this is the year of the metal rabbit. the rabbit year is to be one of peace, calm and love. metal in chinese philosophy is associated with the planet venus, intuition and yin energy; yin energy is marked by sensitivity and a readiness to receive. it is  a very quiet symbol, linked to thoughtfulness, resting. according to feng shui it is about looking west, round shapes and the colour purple (this may explain my fascination with this colour recently).  overall, the bunny year is one i feel very ready to hop into.

whenever this time of year comes i reflect on my beautiful chinese 'long dress' ed gave me when we had our first lunar new year together....the cheongsam.  I had always loved the cheongsam, so elegant and classic. the cheongsam's history is one from shanghai during the 1920's where women, in so many words... wanted to look more chic.  some of my favorite images of the cheongsam are the old chinese advertisements of the 1930's; paintings of women so delicately portrayed, known as shanghai ladies.  in the early decades of the 20th century, advertising came to china. beginning mostly with foreign companies that wished to sell their products more effectively in china, advertising posters became a fad among many corporations. these posters were usually produced by in-house art departments and given away free as calendars or wall hangings to clients around chinese new year. (fr. squidoo.com)  reproductions of these are easily found in china town shops today.

the other images of the cheongsam that have also inspired me came from watching wong-kar-wai's film in the mood for love and the portrayal of hong kong during the 1960's. these cheongsams are accentuated so beautifully in his film by his choice of colour pallet, sets and use of lighting in the cinematography. 

adaryn received a new fuscia cheongsam this year. the original one ed gave me is a more non-traditional blue colour but with lucky gold and red.

this year my modern ways have lead me to a velvet shorter version (though red) found at a vintage shop. i hope it will bring me luck as i wear it to welcome the year of the rabbit.

gong shi gong shi.

an interesting link with photos and uses of the cheongsam
www.squidoo.com/shanghai-lady-poster

history of the cheongsam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam