Title
Portrait of a Chinese woman wearing a sleeveless cheongsam
Year/Period
c. 1950
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Material
Dimension
Image size: 12.6 x 7.4 cm,
Frame size: 8.2 x 13.3 cm
Frame size: 8.2 x 13.3 cm
Accession No.
1994-05071
Collection of
In the 1950s and 1960s, cheongsam were usually worn by high-society ladies and working women. The Mandarin term (qipao) best describes this one-piece dress because it was developed from the robes (pao) worn by Manchu women during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). In Singapore and Hong Kong, however, the Cantonese term, cheongsam (men’s long robe), is more commonly used.
