Description:
The donor, Virginia Lee, posed in a similar cheong sam for a US World War II poster and for the "Miss China" contest in New York. Also known as a qu pao, the Chinese traditional loose dress shape was modified by Western designers in the 1920's to be more close-fitting to accentuate a woman's figure. The altered dress form became broadly popular in the United States as evening wear in the late 1950's and 1960's.
Date Made: ca 1930
User: Mead, Virginia LeeMaker: unknown
Location: Currently not on view
Place Made: ChinaWorn: United States: New York, Manhattan, Chinatown
Referenced: ImmigrationImmigrantsUsed: Chinese Americans
Subject:
See more items in: Home and Community Life: Costume, Family & Social Life, Cultures & Communities, Clothing & Accessories, Chinese American
Exhibition:
Exhibition Location:
Related Web Publication: http://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?view=&dsort=&date.slider=&q=AC0555-0000006.tifhttp://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?q=set_name:%22Lee+Chinese-American+Family+Papers%2C+ca.+1915-1970%22
Related Publication:
Mead, Virginia Lee. Photograph, Portrait of Virginia Lee in a cheongsam dress, Mead, Virginia Lee. Lee Chinese -American Family Papers, ca. 1915-1970
Credit Line: Gift of James Edgar Mead and Virginia Lee Mead
Data Source: National Museum of American History
Id Number: 1992.0620.16Catalog Number: 1992.0620.16Accession Number: 1992.0620
Object Name: dressObject Type: DressWomanMain Dress
Physical Description: satin (overall material)silk (overall material)embroidered (overall production method/technique)Measurements: overall: 51 cm x 116 cm; 20 3/32 in x 45 21/32 in
Metadata Usage: CC0
Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-a044-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Record Id: nmah_1119978
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