Traditional Chinese Clothing in Modern China

[Bird in a Forest]

Hi everyone,

I know that in Japan, people still wear some traditional clothing like a kimono on special occasions (or some just wear it whenever )
In modern China, are there any types of traditional clothing still worn by people.

I'm looking to buy some traditional clothing for myself (in China), but I don't want to end up getting a silly costume or anything like that (although I could imagine it would be fun to walk down the street in emperor's clothes or something XD). Where would I be able to buy said clothes? And what should I be looking for? This includes shoes and hats as well.

Right, in case you're wondering I'm a male.... so no Chinese dresses, that would be strange. :O

Thanks everyone

[renzhe]

The qipao serves a similar role.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qipao

It shouldn't be hard to find one in China, though getting the right size may or may not be tricky, as it is a very tight-fitting dress.

[skylee]

I don't think Chinese people (Han people at least) wear any traditional clothing in daily life any more. The only exceptions are perhaps Qipao as mentioned above (but you can see that it is modified to suit modern taste/needs so it it not really traditional) and Zhongshan suit for guys. Zhongshan suit (or Mao suit) is not that old (Zhongshan is one of Dr Sun Yat-sen's names). I think you can wear it in its original form, which is very presentable. It is not hard to find.

[Shelley]

If I remember the emperors clothes from the fairy tale would not be a good choice either

 

I have not really seen men's Chinese clothes although they do wear a nice loose fitting top with frog buttons and matching trousers for tai qi and martial arts here in the UK. it has a very Chinese look about it.

 

They wear a similar sort of thing here for New Year for the lion and dragon dance.

[OneEye]

You'll still see people wearing 唐裝 sometimes in Taiwan. In fact, two of my professors (both 書法家) wore it fairly frequently.

[Bird in a Forest]

Thanks everyone,

Shelley, do you know what they wear for Tai Qi? I do know some martial arts myself, so it might be cool to get one of those XD

[skylee]

You could also try 長衫. People probably will not laugh at you as you are a froreigner.

長衫 - http://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%95%B7%E8%A1%AB&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=SqELVK2sD9Tq8AXuiYDQBA&ved=0CBsQsAQ&biw=360&bih=615

[Shelley]

This page here shows loads of different clothes. http://www.chineseclothingonline.com/?gclid=COm0mcPozcACFSITwwodBGEAgw

 

I just typed Chinese clothes for tai chi into google and had loads of hits.

 

i am in the UK so I have no idea where you would buy them in china.

 

I have bought most of mine online.

[Meng Lelan]

You'll still see people wearing 唐裝 sometimes in Taiwan. In fact, two of my professors (both 書法家) wore it fairly frequently.

 

 

I almost thought I have seen some Chinese leaders wear this and also some Chinese film stars too. As for myself I've wondered the same thing and don't want a qipao, though I have wanted to buy some indigo dyed cloth and get them made into blouses in a traditional style, if I manage to get back to Shanghai someday 

[Hofmann]

Traditional clothing is almost dead in China. Most attempts at dressing "traditionally" for men is wearing a tangzhuang, including non-Manchus. There are efforts to revive traditional clothing though.

[abcdefg]

I often see old men wearing dressy tangzhuang 唐装 or zhongshan zhuang 中山装 shirts, particularly on special occasions. They look like silk and are usually dark red or blue. This is on the streets in an older section of Kunming.

 

Plenty of men and women here walk around with Mao caps, some with blue Mao tunics as well. Again, these are usually old folks.

 

A funny thing that I've seen two or three times in my (not-upscale) neighborhood is a small parade of 15 or 20 young women dressed as Red Guards, complete with pigtails, gray revolutionary suits and red armbands carrying placards. They march and chant. Someone beats a drum, someone else clashes cymbals.

 

I got up close once and found out they were advertising the opening of a nearby restaurant! Am guessing they were college students hired for a few hours work on a weekend morning. Wish I'd had my camera.

[MPhillips]

When I lived in Taiwan some older gentlemen wore chang-pao in the winter--they looked quite elegant.

[geraldc]

Get yourself on Taobao, there's loads of stuff for sale there.

[oceancalligraphy]

I remember reading about a 漢服 (hanfu) movement sometime ago. I'm not sure if it is still active.

 

NTDTV holds an annual Han couture competition: http://hancouture.ntdtv.com/en/