China's last, most notorious empress, Cixi of the Qing dynasty, lived an imperial life mostly cloaked in mystery — but her fashion frolickings were well known. From her famed long, golden fingernail protectors to her embroidered, imperial yellow robes, Cixi actually favoured a more informal dress, such as the changyi, a loose-fitted gown, that was popular during her reign.
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The fashionable, tight-fitted, bosom-hugging cheongsam or qipao dress of early Republican China — and specifically, of early-1920s Shanghai — pinned its mark worldwide with actress Nancy Kwan's role in Richard Quine's film, "The World of Suzie Wong". The cheongsam's popularisation, with its high collar that flattered a woman's slender neck, rose in tandem with short hair styles.
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Soong Meiling, wife of Chiang Kai-Shek, was a woman of eloquence and diplomacy — and timeless fashion style. It was reported in 1928 that Madame Chiang made sun umbrellas a fashion essential, having carried one wherever she went, irrespective of the time.
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