It was within the sensual, cinematic setting of 1930s Shanghai that traditional Chinese fashion changed forever. Call them cheongsam, qi pao, or Suzy Wong dresses—the high-collared, body-clinging, slit-to-the-thigh gowns evolved in a world of dramatic change, where Chinese citizens mingled with foreigners from such cosmopolitan cities as Tokyo, London, New York, and Moscow. In SHANGHAI GIRL GETS ALL DRESSED UP, Asian art-historian Beverley Jackson explores the city that fostered such radical cultural and social change and the daring and fashionable women—including actresses, courtesans, and showgirls—who wore these fabulous and revealing dresses. Twenty luminous photos of cheongsams and Chinese costumes from the author'¬?s collection, combined with spectacular archival photographs and art, chronicle the social life and history of a groundbreaking city and the beautiful fashions that were born within its walls. Part history and part fashionable frolic, SHANGHAI GIRL steps back in time and paints a vivid picture of a lost generation of intrigue, style, and beauty. Includes more than 100 new and vintage photographs of the city, the clothes, the Chinese cinema stars who led the trends, and the Hollywood movie queens who inspired them.Addresses the profound influence of Chinese costumes on Western fashion trends via film in the 1930s.
Born in Los Angeles, an inveterate traveler, I ultimately moved to Santa Barbara, California, in 1963. My writing life began with a people column I wrote for the Santa Barbara News-Press for 22 years. In 1975, an unexpected trip to China during the Cultural Revolution with Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen totally changed my life.
One dark night in Shanghai, when my traveling companions were ill, there was nothing to do. We weren't allowed to take any reading material into China. No TV. I was wandering the halls of the Peace Hotel, studying the Art Deco elevator doors, the sconces, the radiator covers, totally bored, when a tiny waiter who spoke a bit of English whispered, "Go shopping...they open the friendship store for Polish sailors who sail tomorrow." So I took my flashlight (no cars were on roads then, so there were no lights at all anywhere) walked the five blocks, and ended up buying a lovely 19th-century Chinese women's robe.
That first robe led to building one of the major collections of antique Chinese clothing in United States. Researching this collection for lectures on life in 18th- and 19th-century China (which I've delivered in many museums in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China) led to my writing five nonfiction books. Now I'm doing something very adventuresome for an 82-year old. I've just self-published my first novel, "The Beautiful Lady was a Palace Eunuch."
And next, as my dear friend the late Julia Child told me when my first publishing venture, "Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition," came out in 1998: "Now dear, you really have to work...you have to go out and sell your book!"
