China is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. The country has seen great wars
and devastating natural calamities often. But nothing has held them back and now they
are one of the best developing nations of the world. Chinese clothing has never been the
same and it was a trend to change the styles in the Chinese tunics that were the main
attires for both men and women with political changes.
Information on Chinese clothing tells us that it consisted of tunics, dresses and loose
trousers. The difference in fabrics used to make these clothing portrayed the difference in
the status of the wearer. Affluent people wore the fine silk robes while the poorer people
had them stitched from hemp.
According to information on Chinese clothing, natural dyes were used to color the suits.
Later a distinction was made between the rich and the poor wherein, the richer section of
society could use bright colors except yellow that was reserved for the emperor and black
and blue clothes were for the poor.
Traditional Chinese clothing offered loose and comfortable outfits much different from
the slim-fitted suits that we see today. They were kept loose so that one could perform his
duties well without any obstructions. However the feet of women were tightly bandaged
till the bones broke and the feet reduced to half the size to get beautiful small feet.
The information on Chinese clothing that is available tells us that Chinese attires focused
mainly on the comfort aspects and ease of movements. The large sleeves of the clothing
offered an artistic touch and portrayed the broadmindedness of the time. The tunics
worn by women hung loosely and flowed down to the feet while that of the men were
also extremely free-flowing but went down till the knees and the loose-fitting pants
accompanied these uppers.
Chinese clothing was basically comfort oriented. But they look absolutely elegant and
graceful. Today although the scenario has changed and most men and women have
adopted the western fashion statements and trendy attires. You will still find people
wearing the traditional loose-fitted tunics and trousers and also the Mao jackets to retain
their unique traditional style.