Jacket from 'Mao Suit', twill weave cotton, Beijing, China, 1975-1980

Jacket made of dark blue cotton. Front-fastening with five buttons and button holes, with a small, turned-down collar and waist darts. Four 'patch pockets' with flaps closing with buttons. The two upper pockets are rounded while the lower two are larger and have squared-off edges. The lower pockets are expandable. The section of fabric forming the pocket is first folded under around the edges to a depth of two centimetres. The pocket is not sewn to the garment along this fold line but further inside, allowing for the expansion. These pockets are one of the distinguishing features of what became known in the west as a Mao suit.

Given by Carl and Rosemary Samuelson

Jacket for a woman, part of a suit comprising also trousers and a cap (FE.1: 2 & 3 -1997).

The style is associated with the iconic figure of Mao Zedong (1893-1976), leader of the People's Republic of China from 1949-1976. He was not the first leader to wear the style, however, as several famous leaders wore it before Mao himself. In China it is not called a Mao suit but rather a Sun Yatsen suit. Contrary to myth, not everybody wore the Mao suit during Chairman Mao's leadership - it was rather a formal garment- and, among those who did, there were variations in fabric, fit and colour. It continued to be worn after his death, less so as the years went by. This suit, for a woman, was made at the Hou Yong Kang Factory (后永康服装厂) in Beijing. A European visitor to China purchased it off the peg at the Department Store in Beijing. She wore it during her stay there to blend in with the general population at a time, in the early 1980s, when an international style of dressing was only just becoming acceptable in Chinese cities.

This outfit is known in the west as a Mao suit. Although the design has its origins in the 'Zhongshan suit' of the Republican period (1911 - 1949), the style is associated with the iconic figure of Mao Zedong (1893-1976). Mao favoured it partly because of its capacious pockets, which was a distinguishing feature in these suits made during his premiership. This suit was made at the Hou Yong Kang Clothing Factory in Beijing. A European visitor to China purchased it off the peg at the Department Store in Beijing. She wore it during her stay there to blend in with the general population at a time, in the early 1980s, when an international style of dressing was only just becoming acceptable in Chinese cities.

FE.1:1-1997