What Chinese Women Wore in the 1920s, and How to Make Its Iconic Black Skirt
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- 4 minutes is not enough for a crash course in Chinese clothing history, and many things are over generalized here. Hoping to do some better history content in the future :D
Material
Silk charmeuse - Mood Fabrics
Floral trim - www.etsy.com/l...
More about Me
ins: @clairezhangyx
website: clairezhangyx.com
Music
Gold Rush - Mac Taboel
Golden Age Radio - Golden Age Radio
Golden Memories - Golden Age Radio
(the gold theme here is completely unintentional)
So much of CosTube focuses on English, French, and American historical fashion, so it is really cool to learn about a completely different corner of the world.
I agree!
Amen!
@@Arhimith Cultural appropriation is when a majority culture adopts something from the minority culture with out having to deal with any of the setbacks or microaggressions the minority culture had to deal with while just living their truth (I.e. traditional chinese dress by Chinese people being othered, but seen as fashionable when worn by White people). A "white woman donning a Chinese skirt" is fine as long as shes being respectful of a Chinese person's culture and heritage. If she's wearing it like a custom that is not okay.
Speaking a language is not cultural appropriation. Further more speaking a language from a culture that colonized almost a quarter of the world, does not count as appropriation either, that's assimilating to the majority culture to conform and be accepted.
Please actually read up on cultural appropriation, it is not funny and can be very harmful.
@@aelurine They weren’t talking about the language, they mean history/culture and dress
Western culture has become so widespread among the world so many people believe that they don’t even have one
@@Sarawarawara- but they compared how everyone uses English, and seemed to question why it sn't labeled as cultural appropriation..? that's why Victoria even mentioned language.
Haha im spanish and i was precisely thinking that sort of trim seemed like a common style in local haberdasheries! That embroidery style from the trim became popular in spain with the mantones de manila, which were imported from China and became part of folkloric dress here. It all comes back around.
It really isn’t easy to find hand embroidered trim. Etsy is my go to for things like that
Really interesting! I would love to hear more about Chinese clothing history. Ty for the amazingly well done video :D
I am Chinese American and I am so glad I found your video! I can finally follow a historical costuming tutorial that represents my own culture/background. Please don't stop :)
I appreciate the mini history session and the use of traditional methods. Thanks for taking the time to explaining the techniques as well!
Thank you for this video! Me and my sister (Canontese) both love exploring historical clothing, but the colonial history of Hong Kong in particular makes it difficult to find styles that aren't concretely either traditional high class Chinese dress or POC wearing European imports.
The hong kong Qipao industry is a fascinating chapter of Chinese clothing history! It definitely was influenced by Western style brought in by the colonizers, but it also retained a lot of Chinese elements, in terms of both aesthetics and technique.
Yeah, and many parts of mainland China were also colonised, and not just in the past two hundred years. Fortunately many important texts and paintings on traditional Han clothing (people in Western countries usually refer to Han people as "Chinese" people - it's technically wrong but whatever) survived MULTIPLE colonisations throughout Chinese history to this day.
It's not impossible to recreate Han clothing from hundreds and even thousands of years ago, though it would probably take more effort than finding/recreating the historical clothing of many European countries which did not go through any colonial period.
China is also a very multi-cultural and multi-ethnic land. If you're someone who's mainly interested in Han traditional clothing, then the clothings in Yuan Dynasty (ruled by the Mongalian empire) and Qing Dynasty (ruled by the Manchu) are very very different from those in the Han-ruled dynasties.
I think they may not even count as Chinese clothing, depending on how you define "Chinese". I personally think that they do count, just because they were worn on the land of China. So why not.
That being said, historical Chinese clothing in different time periods are all very distinct from each other. I would break my wallet and credit card trying to collect even just 1/3 of the all the different styles lol
Outstanding presentation! I was trained as a bespoke tailor, back when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, and I was exposed to some of the most incredible techniques which had developed in China. I remember being laughed at when I mentioned that the Chongsam was first presented in the 1920s, and you have definitely proven me right.
Bravo and great good luck!
I actually knew that the qipao wasn't traditional, but only because of xiran jay zhao's Legend of Korra video which discusses it a bit. But they didn't mention all the history behind it! Super fascinating to see that the woman's change of fashion in the 20s was a world wide occurance...
Can't wait for the shirt video!
(As for the black fabric camera dilema, I watched 45 min of Bernadette Banner constructing her black velvet ballgown so this was fine.)
Also, the saliva string thing is super nifty. I should try it sometime.
Thank you. The focus on non-western fashion was nice for a change, as all of historical fashion TH-camrs are stuck in the same Western region.
And too often within that region they narrow down to a particular class and era.
There's some eastern european folclore youtubers and also some black youtubers that discuss lower class fashions, but theyre much less popular. Audiences are VERY biased in favor of wealthy british people.
@@verybarebones Really? May i ask recommendation for these youtuber you mentioned? I would really love preferences to widen perspective!
@@verybarebones me too please!
What if it's because curvier women don't look good in the maxi length? I know I don't. Lol.
That "waterline" technique is fascinating! I wonder whether an aqueous solution of amylase would work, for those who are suffering from an ick factor from using actual saliva... (Not me, I happily lick the end of my thread if having problems with threading needles).
Such a beautiful skirt and so much interesting information! I'm intrigued by the marking the water line technique, you got such crisp edges, I'm going to have to try this out for myself! I also love hearing about how fashions can be linked to wider social and political movements, so fascinating. Looking forward to the next instalment!
Regarding foot binding: I met a few old ladies with tiny feet, and it was amazing to me how they said it was indeed uncomfortable, but beautiful!
For context: I grew up in Macau and this was in an old people’s home.
This is fascinating! I am so happy to see some fashion history of East Asia and not Western fashion. There is so much more to learn that just what French and English ladies were wearing. -_-
Amazing! So simple, yet so elegant. I really appreciated the extra information about Chinese dress history. It’s just not something we see enough of on CosTube, and I’m so here for it!
As for marking the waterline, it reminds me of how I fold and tear paper very nestled- I fold, then use my own saliva. It breaks down the fibres of the paper better than plain water can, leaving either a very crisp fold, or a perfectly straight and even tear, no scissors necessary. It was something I learned from my mum, who liked to use thicker paper, but not waste any. And she always maintained that a perfect tear was more elegant and straight than using scissors. Nether that’s true or not, I can’t say. But it’s something I still do to this day.
It makes perfect sense that this method would also work very well on fabric- because after all, it’s also just fibres. Though I’m not sure I’d be tearing fabric that way, I definitely believe that the fold would be much cleaner- I’ve even “teeth pressed” or “back of thumb wetted with a small amount of saliva” pressed linen before when I didn’t have access to an iron, and it worked perfectly. My folds were just as sharp as you’d expect from an iron, though much more time consuming!
If you’re interested in doing more videos that contain dress history or dressmaking history, that really would be wonderful. I’ve always enjoyed watching you put together stunning pieces, and being given the history behind them at the same time would truly be *chef’s kiss*
Chinese and Japanese historical clothing has definitely been piquing my interest lately. I'm so glad I found this channel 🥰
This is so cool! I love a good history lesson with my sewing, especially about something that doesn't get nearly as much coverage as it should in the costuming world. More pls
This is awesome!! Love to see the non- Western aspects of historical sewing represented :))
I'm from andalusia, southern spain, and it's so sweet see how you use a typical andalusian embroidery in your tradicional chinese clothing 😁 what a wonderful way to unite cultures and people 🇪🇸🇨🇳 by the way, you're so talented 😁 greetings from andalusia, my dear!
I love this so much! I'm American, and so much of what I've been exposed to is historical fashion of western Europe and the US, but I want to learn more about other historical clothing in the rest of the world! Definitely subscribing!
This is the video that made me subscribe! So much of the fashion history online that's easily accesible in English is Western centric. You've done a great job contextualizing everything, and your craftsmanship is always spectacular, especially with showing some interesting period methods. Looking forward to more in the future!
this shirt is so simple and cute and the history behind it was interesting.
Here to add that its amazing to see more fashion history that isn't eurocentric!! Immediate follow from me! 🙏
This is so fascinating! I am Chinese and studied fashion design in a Western country. It is quite unfortunate that I did not learn my own cultural costume in detail. Thank you for your knowledge!
What a beautiful skirt! I loved learning about this water marking method and how the saliva breaks down the starch in the fabric for a crisp edge. Lovely video!
The water line technique is amazing! Really appreciate the fashion and technique history you go over here.
I am not Chinese, I am Egyptian but I just find this skirt to be really beautiful. I was wondering from your perspective, would it be okay for me to try to make one and wear it for myself? I love fashion a lot regardless of country and I enjoy reading and learning about the history, so I was wondering what your opinion was on that
Personally I think people can make and wear clothing from other culture as long as they understand and respect said culture. I would love to see more non-Chinese study and wear Chinese clothing :D
@@clairezhangyx well I've been interested in Chinese fashion and history for some time now! So thank you, and I look forward to learning more 🥰
Wow this is so cool! Chinese historical fashion tutorials... In ENGLISH?
The details in this video are amazing! The seam folding is so interesting.
Humans are so adaptive and smart, and it’s so cool to see all the ways people have figured out how to do something. Your skirt is so beautiful (I love the colors)!
I love the history lesson and water line technique. That's awesome. Gorgeous skirt!
You are absolutely lovely. I have been fascinated with Chinese fashion my whole life. This was so unexpected and such a wonderful surprise to see. I would love to see a breakdown of all the decades you mentioned. Maybe a comparison video with western fashion for each decade.
I have noticed in my own shopping circle i tend to lean towards the manufactured in China choices, something about it being lovely and often more practical for my needs. (Possibly because pants were worn way before western fashion was) I have visions of many hidden secret pockets.
Thank You for sharing this. I loved it!
Thank you for this little bit of history. I did one or two university courses that gave an overview of what was happening in China during the 1920s, but it was very limited. When you only look at political events and writing, you miss what people were experiencing as individuals quite often. When you can look at what people were wearing and why they were wearing it, and what they were doing with their leisure and work time, you can start to see into individual lives. You start to see social changes and economic changes in a new light, and can see a bit more of how people actually felt about their lives at the time...
I always have thought it it more accurate to look at what people are doing than to look at what they are saying, and then you also can see the people whose voice was thought insignificant and not recorded.
I'd love to learn more about historical chinese sewing
Okay for some reason I just adore the way you say "Versailles". Like it literally just made be happy and I don't know why. Thank you for coming to my ted talk
Your stitches are SOO beautiful! So tiny and even! It looks like you make really high quality, thoughtful garments!
What a lovely skirt, fairly simple but so elegant! And so awesome to learn something about Chinese clothing history. Well done, very well done. Looking forward to the next part.
YEESSSSSSS!! IVE BEEN WAITING FOR VIDEOS LIKE THIS TO START POPPING UP!! I absolutely love this!! keep up the good work!! As a westerner it can be difficult to find info on these fashions without getting into a super deep dive, cant wait to see more historical Asian fashions.
I love seeing the hand stitching in this video. I sew my clothing by hand. I have had such horrible luck with sewing machines, because of that I found it easier to just sew everything by hand. I don't sew period pieces, I am sewing current styles, upcycles, mending's whatever, so to see you sewing a gorgeous, I mean absolutely stunning seam, is encouraging.
I'm SO happy I found this channel!!! I loved the brief history of female Chinese dress, I didn't know this about the qipao. The final skirt is beautiful. Your stitching is so neat!! Very satisfying lol I'm really looking forward to the blouse video. Thank you!
The water marking technique is really interesting! The skirt is beautiful. I had been unaware that this style was so closely associated with the May 4th movement. Thank you for speaking about the historical context!
As a Chinese person I desperately want to watch Chinese historical fashion videos, but I often find that historical fashion youtube is dominated by western historical fashion content, even by POC creators, so this was a really pleasant surprise. Loved the video!
Very pretty and simple at times it’s the simplistic look that can be dressed up or down. Loved the history behind the outfit thank you for sharing 🤗🤗🤗
I am so happy to finally land in the Chinese fashion history side of youtube
What a cool technique marking the waterline is! The skirt turned out really pretty ^-^
Lovely! History + Fashion + Sewing. You totally nailed it! Subscribed to see more of Chinese sewing & history
That was a very interesting video! I still have to snoop through your channel…but in case is it not there: What would have been worn under the skirt? Was there something like a Petticoat?
If my grandmother's old things are any indication, it's another gathered rectangle silk skirt. A slip skirt of about knee length and super duper thin. One has a teeny tiny lace trim at the hem, the others do not. All of them undyed (sorta white).
@@p.z.1317 Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! A simple slip skirt makes a lot of sense :)
This was so cool! I loved learning the pressing technique and the historical context for this garment. Looking forward to the next video 😊
I totally agree
Thank you! Very interesting history lesson. Your traditional use of water lining was also fascinating.
Really interesting info! Thank you for sharing the history behind this garment. I’ve never seen this kind of embroidered black skirt in Chinese fashion before, but it looks surprisingly modern. Btw, would it be possible to enable auto captions on your videos?
I spent half an hour trying to turn on auto cap and still haven't figured out how to do it......
@@clairezhangyx oh darn! Thanks for trying though!
@@lolasaysyes my feed has allowed auto generated captions. To get it to appear I touched the screen to get the three dots to appear in top right of video feed. Clicked that and the drop down menu included captions. I got two options then, English US and auto. Hope you get yours to work.
@@sharonhoare5790 I believe Claire added the captions later, they were not available on the first day when I viewed the video. Thanks for the heads up!
I really appreciated you taking the time to explain the social movements and their relationship to clothing history. Thank you!
Thank you for that lovely history! These dresses are timeless and elegant…just love them!
Wow the history part was fascinating and the skirt turned out beautiful! Amazing work!
This is great! I'd love to learn more about Chinese vintage.
It’s lovely, I have always loved traditional Chinese and Japanese clothing. Western clothing has never appealed to me except for the Edwardian period
Thank you for posting this fun video. My maternal grandmother was a tailor in the 1920-s to 1950-s and you are using the exact same stitches passed down from her. The "Marking the waterline" is new to me, but makes total sense, so thank you very much for this video, it's been really fun and nostalgic.
wow this is fascinating ! Thank you for doing this video. I'm super curious as a european about the fashion history in different asian countries. That "water line" technique is very intriguing and very effective :O I would love it if you made more videos about how clothing were made in the history of China (for exemple, we know a lot about the european corset but i always wondered if there was something similar in asia)
Thank you again for this quick history lesson and the useful tutorial :)
🤯 The Waterline Process is FASCINATING 🤯
Thank you for sharing. PLEASE share more Chinese/Chinese-American Fashion History!!!! It needs to be shared for all cultures to know. ALL Lives Matter!!!
Would it be a too big of an endeavor to make a qing style court robe/ manchu attire? With the hanfu revival it's been something lingering in the back of my mind but with little information in English the task would be beyond daunting
The skirt is lovely and it's so interesting to know more about the cultural context of the style, thank you!
The history lesson at the beginning has made me want a whole documentary series about clothing and revolutionary movements in China !!!!!!!!! And the wet thread method! So fascinating! So glad this vid was recommended to me I can’t wait to check out the rest of your channel 😃😃
I was drawn in by the topic (quite new to me here in Central Europe, fascinating!) and stayed for the video style. :-) I'm finding out that I also watched your dress form video a while ago and really liked it. So you've just gained a new subscriber - because I really, really appreciate that your videos are fairly short, clear and to the point! That's definitely a skill to treasure!
Great video! Loved learning a bit about Chinese fashion. The skirt came out lovely! This style seems very comfortable and easy to wear. And the water line technique is really interesting, will definitely try it myself!
This was very interesting! I really enjoyed learning about the water marking, I will try that out the next time I sew with silk. Thank you for sharing!
Very well presented, you are very knowledgeable. Thank you for presenting this to us!
The dashuixian method looks so useful! It seems like it really helps neaten up your seams
The skirt is gorgeous! (I've always liked this type of skirt.) Thanks for explaining the history & for showing us how you did it. 🙏🏼🙋🏽♀️
I’m so excited to see this!! I feel like the historical fashion TH-camrs only focus of Western fashion and I’m so excited to learn about something other than that!
I don’t know how this is the first I’m hearing about you, but it is certainly not going to be the last. Liked, subscribed, turned notifications on.
I've been scouring youtube for more historical chinese garment making! This is wonderful, I hope you keep making content like this!
Yayy finally some Chinese historical costuming on TH-cam!!
thank you for taking the time to make this video and explain traditional chinese construction techniques-do you plan on making more videos about this in the future?
yes！
Thank you for the lesson in history and technique of a different country than is usually presented on CosTube. It's a beautiful skirt.
OMG I'm so excited over this!!!! I love vintage/ancient fashion but I've never really been recommended anything on TH-cam that strayed outside of French and British history, I'm so happy that I've found this channel! This is gonna be so fun >:)
Wow so pretty and pretty wearable for even a modern wardrobe! Love learning about Chinese Clothing history ✨
This is a really simple project! I enjoyed the historical element and would love to attempt this one day. Much much more doable than the qipao, haha. You made it seem very accessible and of course, this skirt would not look out of place in the 21st century! I also appreciate how easy it is to size it according to preferred length.
Also I have to ask - would such skirts traditionally have had pockets? And how full should the skirt be? I guess we can also eyeball it based on the reference photos you shared. Thanks for a great video.
I just used a piece of 45" fabric. It works but restricts your movement a little bit. On hind sight I would suggest piecing together two 45" ones or using 60" fabric.
From my understanding, skirts usually don't have pockets, but the jacket-blouse always has a hidden pocket on the inside.
@@clairezhangyx thank you! looking forward to the jacket blouse video :))
I really appreciate this video! I'm half Chinese but was born and raised in the UK with the white British side of my family. I don't have contact with my Chinese family or been to China but it was so lovely to learn a little bit about Chinese history with this video! 🥰
Thank you!! As a Chinese, this was super interesting to learn about
Thank you for this! The skirt is beautiful, and the technique was very well explained. I appreciate the history lesson too!
I love to see other areas of fashion history! It is so diverse as an area, and so frequently we don't hear from areas in the east. Will be subscribing!
Really enjoyed this. I wonder if my Chinese grandmother would have worn such things, this has inspired me to investigate making my own. Thank you
This was so interesting! Thank you for explaining the history behind the clothing - I never knew that the qipao wasn't 'traditional' (in the sense of going back hundreds of years). The 'waterline' technique was also really cool to hear about, especially the bit about the enzymes in human saliva. Excited to see the full outfit when it gets finished!
super interesting thank you! I'm half chinese but raised in the UK so know nothing about traditional chinese fashion, or how my grandmother would have lived. So this was really nice for me to learn x
Oh this is so wonderful, I am so glad the algorithm washed this my way, I enjoyed it immensely! I love learning about fashion (and general) history outside of Western Europe and the US. This video was wonderful, thank you so very much. Also learning about the method for folding the seam allowance is just. Amazing! Thank you thank you thank you!!! I'm very excited for the jacket blouse video!
Edit: also, let's be honest, if a garment reconstruction video includes silk I am always going to watch it it's just such a wonderful material I love looking at it.
Fascinating, thank you for this. I really enjoyed learning about the changes in dress in the early 1900s. Also, I'm going to try that waterline trick on some cotton or linen and see how it works!
This is amazing content. The comparison of how seam allowances are handled in western vs Chinese clothing was super interesting!
Lawd I LOVE hanfu and other traditional Asian clothing/fashion. It's gorgeous!!
I had no idea! That was very interesting. Both skirts are beautiful!
The Dashuixian technique is so interesting, thank you for the video and all the explanations! I love this style, it's elegant yet it looks comfortable
Finally!! A Chinese historical clothing youtuber!! Lovely, will be following your content in the future 👍
Great Video! I look forward to learning more about Chinese clothing history from you!
I have been binging watching your videos. All I want to say is 💐💐💐
Lovely. Your hand stitches are beautiful.
uh oh ahh i’ve fallen into a rabbit hole of your videos and i love your incredible skill and historical knowledge, i barely started sewing but now am super interested in this chinese vintage niche
Just seeing another chinese vintage fashion sewer is super inspiring! and youre too talented istg 🤚
Super informative video👏👏👏 learn a lot not just making clothes ...just wow. Love it.
Thank you for this video!! 💕 Can’t wait to learn and hear more !!
That was a very nice history lesson. Your skirt is lovely and am wondering if the watermark technique would work on linen. I am thinking that I should find out soon.
I’ve used it before on linen, when I needed a crisp fold and didn’t have an iron handy. I used the back of my thumbnail, wetted with saliva, or just my teeth and tongue. It was only for me, and I washed it before wearing it, so it wasn’t too unhygienic.
But it worked really well! I was able to get a perfectly straight crisp fold, without using an iron at all. I think it would work better on linen than any other fabric, as linen is also easier to fingerpress.
I used the saliva and pressure technique, because it was how my mum taught me to fold and tear paper. Saliva works better for this than plain water, and if you press a clean fold, wet the fold with saliva, then you can tear a perfectly straight line, no scissors necessary. And if you let it dry and don’t tear it, you have a perfectly crisp and clean fold. It was a technique I learned from my mum. Works for both paper and fabric, apparently. Which isn’t surprising- they’re both made of fibres.
@@katherinemorelle7115 knitting has the “spit splice” to join the ends of a new and old skein of yarn and while you can use plain water spit is considered better. I never would have thought of using something similar on fabric! I enjoyed your video very much, well done!
Thank you for making this!! Chinese clothing through history is incredibly detailed and fascinating, but we don’t get as much information about 20th century post-Qing dynasty clothes!
This is a very interesting video, thank you so much! From the few resources I have been able to find, I love how Chinese clothing has changed through the complex history of the country. I definately want to make my own 20s ensemble after seeing this video!
im so glad i found chinese historical costuming video for once! please do more of these. wah im excited. subscribed
So fascinating! I loved the explanations of techniques that are different from western styles of sewing, I'm definitely going to try that thin water line pressing technique