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| Zhonghua chipau lin |
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Chipau stems from a kind of long robe worn by both men and women of the north
minority nationalities in China. To keep warm, the collar of the costume was made
high and tight-fitting. Chipau has incorporated this feature, not just for preventing
coldness but for beauty.
The collar of chipau generally takes the shape of a semicircle, its right and
left sides being symmetrical, flattering the soft and slender neck of a woman.
Also, against the woman's lips and chin, it brings out her sex appeal.
The front of chipau is rather ordinary, loose and tight. To be more exact,
its bust girth is appropriate. The design of the front of chipau is simple and
flowing without any decoration. To display the protruding breast of a woman, the
designers make the waist girth appear as thin as possible to represent the high
breast indirectly; by means of the flat back of chipau they highlight the wavy
shape of the breast.
Chipaus may have a variety of sleeves. Consider chipau without sleeves first.
Quite contrary to the traditional chipau with a protrusive front and tiny waist,
sleeveless, chipau exposes a woman's slender arms, making her feel comfortably
cool, on the other hand, showing the ingenuity of the designer. For example, there
are long-length sleeves, elbow-length sleeves, cornet sleeves, double sleeves,
etc.
The cuffs of chipau are so varied that they are too numerous to mention one
by one. The cuffs set off women's hands and wrists, to reveal the delicacy of
their hand and their feminine beauty expressive of rich sentiment.
Chipau generally has two big openings at either side of the hem for convenient
movement and display of the slender legs of women. Unlike a short-length skirt,
the openings of chipau expose a woman's legs indistinctly when she walks. Chipau
can express the elegance of a woman's legs vividly and involve the most complicated
and active aesthetic imagination. |
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