Even Small Skill Deserves Observing:Study On The Tailoring Method Of Cheongsam In The Republic Of China

Cheongsam is the most remarkable representative of Chinese women's dress in the last century. Maintained national character and conformed to the requirements of the times, cheongsam is the classic of innovations based on traditions. During the period of the Republic of China, cheongsam has experienced three stages of development and changes, and its clothing structure has gradually evolved from the traditional Chinese planar structure to the western three-dimensional structure. This paper analyzes the process of this evolution from the perspective of the tailoring method, clarifying that it is not a technological progress, but a game process between the East and the West culture, in which the pros and cons are worth rethinking.The dresses of Man and Han nationalities at the end of Qing Dynasty are mutually integrated, and they both learned a lot from each other's advantages and disadvantages. This new dress, combing Man's and Han's traditional dresses, became the cheongsam which we talk about today. In fact, cheongsam is an independent choice made by Chinese women. At the beginning, cheongsam continued to use the traditional T-shaped planar structure, and there was a centre joint in the right middle of the cheongsam. Cheongsam's improvement in the middle of the Republic of China is the highlight of cheongsam's overall development. In that period of time, cheongsam was incomparable in terms of style, material, craftsmanship and popularity, and its international influences still cannot be denied today. It is also noticeable that remove the centre joint was removed while maintaining the planar structure; this magnificent improvement is the core of the tailoring method during that period, which represents the wisdom and skills of Chinese craftsman, and this is unable to achieve with the tailoring methods nowadays. Recently, cheongsam is separated from traditions and has become a modern dress which preserves part of the Chinese symbols.This paper aims to observe the cultural context of cheongsam, compare real objects and documentations, and analyze the detailed steps and operation of cheongsam's tailoring method. Thus, we hope to do something meaningful to help inherit traditional cheongsam.