Changing face: the evolution of Chinese women's dress and appearance

Abstract

Women’s dress and appearance can reflect a lot about a civilized society. It is influenced by many factors as well. The dress and appearance of contemporary Chinese women have not been studied much by mass communication researchers. This paper, however, explored the factors that influence the development and evolution of contemporary Chinese women’s dress and appearance. It traced back from Dynastic China to Republican China and then to Mao’s red China to examine the historical and political influences imposed on the dress and appearance of Chinese women. Then, it used in-depth interviews to find out factors that influence women’s dress and appearance in contemporary China. Especially, this paper analyzed the result of all these factors that typically were transmitted or reinforced by mass media. The paper found that media played a very important role in contemporary Chinese women’s dress and appearance. Chinese women depend on media very much in choosing their dress style and clothes. In addition to this, peers’ opinion and social environment also influence Chinese women’s choice in dress. Since the results showed that media dependency could also be applied to China’s contemporary society, the paper concluded that media in China will have much more role on the society especially on women’s dress and appearance in the future. It also concluded that Chinese women would not be totally westernized but would maintain some Chinese characteristics in dress and appearance in the future.