Overview
The People’s Republic has dressed in two opposite ways within one lifetime. For three decades clothing was deliberately uniform, plain and political; since 1978 it has been as varied and fast-moving as anywhere, and China has become both the world’s largest garment manufacturer and a large consumer market in its own right.
Key garments and style
The Mao era wardrobe was the Zhongshan suit — called the Mao suit outside China — in blue, grey or green, worn by men and women, with the Lenin jacket, a double-breasted belted coat, common for women in the 1950s. Cloth was rationed by coupon into the 1980s, so clothing was mended and handed on. During the Cultural Revolution military green with a cap and a red armband became the aspirational look for the young.
After the reforms, jeans, suits, foreign brands and then domestic ones arrived in quick succession, and dressing distinctively stopped being risky.
The most interesting recent development is hanfu. A youth movement wearing reconstructed Han, Tang, Song and Ming clothing has grown from a niche into a visible street and online presence, with a supply industry behind it — historical dress revived as contemporary practice rather than as costume.
Transition
Chinese dress now moves through global cycles while its own long history is being actively rediscovered and worn.