Outside of honoring their heritage, there’s little wonder why Chinese brides in the Western world wear a qipao for at least some portion of their wedding day: It’s hard not to look great in one.
The qipao, which is also known as a cheongsam, packs in a lot of striking, distinctive details: a body-hugging silhouette, a sleek mandarin collar and silk embroidered with everything from gold dragon and phoenix symbols, to delicate peonies and butterflies. (To get a sense of just how striking the sheath dress can be in movement, watch Maggie Cheung moodily walk around in one in Wong Kar Wai’s classic “In The Mood For Love.”)
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As part of their wedding celebration, many Chinese American brides don a qipao for their tea ceremony, a tradition where the bride and groom serve tea to their respective families, elders especially, to express gratitude. The dress is almost always a vibrant red. (In Chinese culture, red symbolizes happiness, prosperity and good luck.)
As cherished as this wedding tradition is, it’s not always easy to find a qipao that hits all the right marks for modern brides in the U.S.
When Jenn Qiao’s wedding rolled around in 2017, she experienced firsthand the challenge of finding the right dress.
“While there were countless options when shopping for my white wedding dress, I was shocked at the lack of options for a modern Chinese qipao,” Qiao, who lives in Southern California, told HuffPost.
“I first tried local stores in Chinatown, where the selections were very traditional and limited, and the language barriers made it even more difficult to describe what I was looking for,” she explained. “When I searched online, the only websites that offered wedding qipaos had dubious quality and nonexistent customer service.”
Disappointed…
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