Women in the Tang Dynasty really knew how to dress. They emphasize different styles and outfit combinations. Tops include jackets with small sleeves, shirts with wide sleeves, and a variety of skirts. The most eye-catching was the "half-sleeve" dress, the sexiest women's clothing of the time.
Half-sleeves, in layman's terms, are an ancient short-sleeved shirt, also called half-sleeves. It evolved from the "half-sleeve" style of the Han and Wei dynasties and was a breakthrough in clothing at that time. Its shape is double-breasted, with sleeves that do not cover the elbows and are waist-length. If worn with a skirt, it is called a "half-sleeve skirt."
Even more groundbreaking than half-sleeves is the "topless" skirt, a fashion that boldly reforms the neckline. It changes the traditional openings of round collar, square collar, oblique collar, straight collar and sweetheart collar, increases the size of the opening, and cuts it into a "topless collar".
As early as the early Tang Dynasty, people had begun to wear "topless" skirts. When Li Zhi (Tang Gaozong) became emperor, this fashion became more popular. After all, women dress too revealingly, which conflicts with traditional aesthetics. For this reason, Li Zhi ordered that clothes must be modest, which shows how avant-garde and trendy women were at that time. However, Wu Zetian, the "mother of the country" at that time and later the great Zhou emperor, liked to follow the fashion. While the ban was effective for a while, it was still "cyclical." Finally, women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty became slim, transparent and fashionable.
However, with the tolerance of the general environment and more open business exchanges, the overall clothing of women in the Tang Dynasty underwent great changes. Women in the Tang Dynasty, especially the royal and aristocratic women, mostly wore half-sleeved and long skirts.
In some precious historical documents or murals of the Tang Dynasty, the outfits of many ancient people are recorded. It can be seen from the paintings of ladies in the Tang Dynasty that women in the Tang Dynasty wore very thin and elegant breast robes, which greatly liberated women from the constraints of traditional clothing and made them full of vitality. They also conform to the Tang Dynasty's aesthetic standard of "fatness is beauty".
Why were women’s clothing in the Tang Dynasty so bold and open?
Why did women in the Tang Dynasty like this kind of "half-sleeve" and "floor-length skirt" clothing culture?
bigThere are mainly three combinations of women's clothing images in the Tang Dynasty for more than 200 years, namely skirts, Hufu and women's and men's clothing. After the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Hu Feng gradually weakened and more of the Han tradition was restored. After the restructuring, the large-sleeved skirt with the coat off became the main form of clothing for women in the Tang Dynasty.
From the Sui Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, with political stability, economic development, progress in production and textile technology, and frequent exchanges with foreign countries, ancient Chinese clothing developed to its heyday. In order to promote the combination of ancient and modern clothing culture and widely learn from China and foreign countries, there has been an unprecedented prosperity. The styles, colors and patterns of clothing have all presented an unprecedented new situation, making women's clothing in this period the most exciting chapter in Chinese clothing. With its rich and gorgeous crowns and various decorations, it is dizzying.
Women in the court and the upper class, that is, aristocratic women, in addition to the formal clothing forms prescribed by law and order, are also very characteristic of the times and lead the trend of women's clothing. They wear novel and bold clothing, such as mysterious and towering curtain hats, Smart hooded suits, light and off-the-shoulder tulle dresses.
In ancient Chinese society, most women have long been bound by traditional moral norms. The so-called "smile without showing teeth", "walk without moving the skirt", "stand without following the door", "go out without showing your face", etc. are all regarded as strict rules that women must abide by. However, in the Tang Dynasty, due to the mutual exchange and influence of Hu ethnic customs, foreign civilizations, religious culture, and local traditions of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the long-term penetration of multiculturalism formed the unique social psychology of tolerance, equality, and openness of the Tang Dynasty. This enabled women in the Tang Dynasty, especially aristocratic women with privileged status, to live in a relatively relaxed social environment.
The appreciation of fatness as a beautiful figure influenced women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty
Before the Tang Dynasty, the world had a good reputation for women's implicit beauty. However, the body aesthetics of the Tang Dynasty paid more attention to realism, and delicacy included plumpness, which highlighted the health and openness of women's curves. This courage to discover and speak out about all the good things in life made the appreciation of female beauty a popular fashion in the court and the market. From the delicate women in the early Tang Dynasty to the pretty women in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, to the women in the middle Tang Dynasty who regarded fatness as their beauty and even looked slightly bloated, the plump beauty and openness presented by fatness became the aesthetic characteristics of the Tang Dynasty.
Ladies of the Tang Dynasty
The appreciation of fatness as a beautiful figure prompted the production of a new kind of clothing: a large-sleeved chest-length skirt, consisting of a large-sleeved shirt and a high-waisted skirt. At the same time, in order to fully highlight the grace and fullness of the curves, women often use light gauze as the texture of the skirt, and use embroidery to expose the shoulders and back, revealing the delicate skin from the veil.
When women in the Tang Dynasty opened their tops, they also attached great importance to the form of clothing. Bottoms are bottoms and bottoms are skirts. At the time, the fabric for skirts was mainly silk, but many different materials were used, often with the first choice being the first choice. The waist of the skirt is raised, and the upper part of the body is covered with unlined gauze, leaving the upper skin of the body slightly exposed.
The skirts of the Tang Dynasty were brightly colored and could be as good as people liked. They are mostly deep red, apricot, purple, moon and green. Among them, pomegranate color is the most popular color. The biggest feature of pomegranate skirt is that the skirt is higher and has a short waist. The two skirt bundles contrast in width and length. This kind of "Tang suit" with top and skirt is the inheritance, development and improvement of the previous generation's clothing. From the overall effect, the jacket is short and the skirt is long, making the body look slim and slim.
"The red skirt is jealous of the pomegranate flower" The pomegranate skirt outlines a soft, warm, smooth and moving figure with charming luxury and elegant artistic conception, and vividly demonstrates the aesthetic fashion and artistic taste of the Tang Dynasty. Women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty was not only promoted by people at that time, but even today people are excited to see the clothing of the Tang Dynasty. There is nothing pretentious or coquettish here. On display were vibrant, exciting and engaging costumes. It's not too colorful to be photographed. Various fresh and beautiful colors compete with each other, unwilling to let go, mixed with gold and silver, even more dazzling to the eyes. Its decorative patterns are full of pairs of birds and animals, with colorful flowers, auspicious lights and lively fun. This is really a great Tang Dynasty scene.