October 2, 2005 8:06 AM BST
Hi, here's a journal entry I wrote some time ago which I had promised to email to Angelique-Eugenie this weekend but decided it may be better if i share it with everybody here
I am the only girl in the office who dare to wear the 'Cheongsam', a traditional Chinese dress to work because i am a foreigner in China. (I always get pleasant smiles and nice compliments from my colleagues and clients knowing that I am very appreciative of Chinese culture).
The reason why the local Chinese girls avoid the cheongsam for work is because they may be mistaken for the waitresses working in the Chinese restaurant downstairs -- lol -- though they would don the most beautiful cheongsams for formal cocktail office parties.
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Journal entry
13 February 2005
Kuala Lumpur
"My Chinese Cheongsam"
a cheongsam (qipao) is a traditional Chinese long
dress with a high closed collar, a fitting waist, and
slits up from the sides, all of which combine to set
off the beauty of a female figure.
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A wicked rainstorm was lashing wildly outside my bedroom window, drenching the monkeys huddled close to one another under the treetops. This Sunday looked like it will remain wet and grey till nightfall. As though to dispel the dreariness of it all, a delicious thought crossed my mind... why not put on something sexy, bright and cheery? ...after all, today was the eve of Valentine’s Day.
I peered into the dark recesses of my wardrobe and there it was, fragrant and proud… an antique camphor chest where precious clothing and family heirloom textiles were kept. I lifted the heavy lid and carefully unfolded my one and only cheongsam, shimmering in its fire-red Shantung silk and embellished with exquisite details -- finely embroidered dragon and cloud motifs, and edges trimmed in gold thread. I had saved up many months to purchase this dress some six years ago but have not worn it in the last three. Working girls like myself wear cheongsams only on special occasions like Chinese New Year, weddings and formal dinner functions.*
(*I have began to wear the cheongsam to work in China)
Anxiety filled me as I stood in front of the full-length mirror to try the dress. Will it still fit after three long years? The cheongsam is demanding and unforgiving. It unabashedly clings to your breasts (choosing the right bra is of great importance to give them shape and form) and the tight fit and high slits on either side show off all your womanly curves, for better or worse.
Cheongsams are usually made-to-measure in a tailoring shop so that the dress can be sewn to hug the contours of your body like a second skin. Of course I just couldn't happily skip to a nearby tailor to have myself measured (for obvious reasons), so my cheongsam doesn't fit me as snugly as I would have liked.
A tight-fitting cheongsam on a woman with the right assets is guaranteed to set off alarm bells in men and poison darts from their female companions. I do not know of many traditional costumes that allow you to appear demure, cultured and refined, while at the same time, oozing with deadly sex appeal.
As I sashayed towards the mirror in my high heels and dainty handbag, resplendent in this comely dress, many iconic images flashed across my mind. I imagined myself at different times to be
-- a "tai-tai" (wife of a filthy rich husband who idles away her hours at mahjong, gossiping, shopping or fluttering around like a flirtatious butterfly at high society functions)
-- a high-class prostitute who reserves her pleasures for royal personages, politicians and the well-heeled
-- a blushing bride (a Chinese bride from a well-to-do family may change into three to five gowns, including a cheongsam, during the course of her wedding dinner to impress the guests), or
-- a glamorous but lowly-paid waitress in a five-star chinese restaurant
The cheongsam offers me many role-playing opportunities without going through the hassle of dressing and undressing -- an ideal solution if your imagination runs faster than your hands can zip and unzip dresses.
jennifer lee
