Also called a
Hong Kong sheath, or
qipao in
Mandarin. This is the commonly used name for a
Chinese dress that became popular in the
1930s, although it's often erroneously referred to as traditional clothing. Stereotypical clothing would be more accurate, although it is loosely based on traditional ideas. It often shows up in
anachronistic pre-
20th century settings in
film and such. Anyway, it's very pretty, usually having a
mandarin collar and a tightly fitted shape. They were loose originally, but today's
tight dresses really need to be custom-fitted to look right.
Properly made and fitted, the dress is so tight that you can't sit in a chair, you can only perch on the edge. It's flattering to many body shapes, including both the
full bust and the
small bust. However, it's definitely built for
a woman with a waist and hips.
I'll do my best to describe it in its most basic form: an ankle-length fitted
sheath with side slits,
darts at the
bust,
cap sleeves, and a
mandarin collar, usually made from
silk brocade but often seen in
satin today. Common variations include a high thigh slit,
short sleeves,
long sleeves, side
frog fasteners, shorter lengths (up to
micromini), various
fabrics such as
velvet. A more unusual variation is some sort of cut-out
decolletage. Postmodern
fashion designers have played with the cheongsam idea extensively, much as has been done to the
kimono. The cheongsam will probably never go out of style in the West, as it's been a popular
party dress since the 1930s.
(update) Cheongsam is the Cantonese pronunciation of "chang shan," which indeed merely means "long robe."
Qipao is an unrelated word that is currently used by Chinese-speakers to refer the above kind of dress.