Evolution in Style of Shanghai Women in the 1920s and 1930s

Resumo

The article deals with the transformation of the appearance of women in Shanghai as a process. Manchu women typically wore a one-piece dress that retrospectively came to be known as the qípáo. The modern version, which is now recognized popularly in China as the «standard» qipao, was first developed in Shanghai in the 1920s, partly under the influence of Beijing styles. It was the high-class courtesans and celebrities in the city who made these redesigned tight fitting qipao popular at that time. The author studies the changes in women's lifestyle and in the way they looked.