It is fascinating to learn that Chinese women even those who turned Christian or went to the early missionary schools, were never really happy or comfortable with the bustles and hoops of the Victorian age. They were open to modern influences and did try to marry western costumes with traditional Chinese tunics and trousers. However when the qipao or cheongsam was revived, even those Chinese girls who had been so quick to adopt the flapper styles abandoned them for the more feminine cheongsam, especially for parties and formal occasions.

The cheongsam when it made the rounds of parties in Hong Kong and Singapore, rapidly won the admiration of foreigners and soon it became recognised as a truly national Chinese dress. This garment provided Chinese women with a "form-revealing gown which no other nationality could wear and emphasized thier new found sex appeal without departing too much from styles which were basically traditional." wrote A.C.Scott, author of Chinese Costume in Transition (1956).

What this writer probably meant was that the cheongsam, with its initially body skimming but not fitting silhouette and its emphasis on the legs-- taking note of the silts--enhanced the generally petite and slender form of the Chinese woman. She was quick to see this and realise that the flowing lines of the cheongsam flattered her considerably more than any kind of clothes that missionaries and other Englishwomen were introducing.

The cheongsam reigned supreme as formal or party wear right up to the 1960s. At this time the cheongsam, taking the cue form the sensational mini, started inching up the thigh. By going mini, the cheongsam won for itself a new lease of life. While some women partied in little black cocktail numbers with fake feather trims, others felt just as attractive, as alluring as Suzy Wong in a slinky pure silk cheongsam that ended above the knee. However when maxis and bell bottom trouser suits swept in, the cheongsam finally faded away.

The cheongsam worn for day was normally quite plain, piping and prints being decoration enough. The cheongsam, especially the long cheongsam worn for a party, could have as much glitz as any evening gown. IN the 1930s traditional Chinese silks and satins were used. Sequins and glass beads provided the glitter. Brocades and laces were also popular.

Eurasians and a few European women did flirt with the cheongsam--turquoise brocade was for some mysterious reason the particular favourite--but somehow the cheongsam did not really flatter their large frames and they sensibly stuck to their Christian Dior inspired party dresses and gowns that came into fashion after the lean 1940s.