Dress for a woman (qipao), satin-weave silk; machine-embroidery in metallic threads, lined with silk, Hong Kong, about 1961

Woman's dress (cheongsam or qipao) made from medium-weight white satin. Of mid-calf length and has a high stiffened stand-up collar, short cap sleeves and side slits (ca. 30 cm). The front panel of the dress is decorated with asymmetric silver flowers curling from the left shoulder across the skirt. The foliage was machine embroidered straight onto the satin. The flower heads were made separately from satin off cuts and silver thread, and the petals seem to be stiffened with thin wire and only partially sewn to the dress to give a three dimensional effect. There is no embroidery at the back of the dress.

The dress is edged with matching, narrow white satin piping and is closed with press-studs across the collarbone to the right and down under the arm where there is then a zip-fastener in the side stream. There are bust darts at the front and waist darts at back and front. The dress is lined throughout with lightweight plain white silk.

Given by Richard A. and Janey M. Y. Cheu, in memory of Dr Henry D. Cheu

A large spray of flowers, placed asymmetrically, curls down the front of this qipao from the left shoulder across the skirt. The foliage is machine-embroidered straight onto the white satin, while the flowerheads were made separately from satin off-cuts and silver thread. The petals, delineated with silver thread, are partially sewn to the dress and bent upwards to give a three-dimensional effect.
The dress was made in a popular style of qipao that is different to those with decorative frogging and trims (see FE.16-1994 and FE.42-1995). The white satin is used as a surface for striking embroidery, rather than an expanse of silk to be framed with piping, and the only fastenings are unseen press-studs. This qipao was worn by Alice Cheu (1914-1979) at the wedding reception of her stepson in San Francisco, California, in 1961.

FE.49-1997