Title
Black cheongsam
Year/Period
1950s-1970s
Region
Singapore
Dimension
Object size: 123.3 x 42.4 cm
Accession No.
2004-00698
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Irene Hoe
This is a black sleeveless cheongsam decorated with a velvet floral motif along the collar, sleeves, and flap on the right bodice as well as the hems. It has a nipped-in waist, which was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. The flap on the right-hand side is secured by press studs. This cheongsam belonged to Mdm. Wu Chuen Chuen, who enjoyed wearing it to work and parties, often with a corset underneath to achieve the desired hourglass figure. A leading businesswoman of her time, Mdm. Wu ran the former Stamford Café at Bras Basah Road for 30 years before it closed in the 1970s.
