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Isabel's hair should have gotten a separate Emmy, look at this:

She was a dancer! That beautiful hair stayed beautiful the whole time! Oscar! Pulitzer! Nobel!

And shout out to Laura's little red hat which I also love:

I love both couples and I root for them, but the bit in the middle where they're living together and being all domestic is one of my favorite bits

Hi, thanks for the question! Keep in mind that fashion in ancient China changed over time, so every time period/dynasty’s clothing style differed a little. 

The following info is from an online fashion encyclopedia (unfortunately, the original link no longer works):

In general, for all time periods of ancient China:

- The basic garment for all classes and sexes was a loosely cut robe with sleeves that varied from wide to narrow, worn with the left front panel lapped over the right panel, the whole garment fastened closed with a sash. Sometimes worn with a coat/jacket. 

- Commoners wore a shorter version of the robe—thigh-length or knee-length—with trousers or leggings, or a skirt. The upper class wore their clothes long (ankle-length), often with wide, dangling sleeves. Both men and women wore skirts and trousers. 

- Men’s clothing was often made in solid, dark colors, except for clothing worn at court, which was often brightly ornamented with woven, dyed, or embroidered patterns. Women’s clothing was generally more colorful than men’s. 

- All adults had long hair put up in a bun or topknot, and for men, some kind of hat or other headgear.

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend reading the book Chinese Clothing by Hua Mei, which goes into great detail, dynasty by dynasty, on Chinese fashion over time. 

All the illustrations above are from 100 Portraits of Chinese Historical Customs. Please check it out for more amazing depictions of ordinary life in ancient China!

ISWAK wins the contest, hands-down. ISWAK is centered around the budding romance of Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu, of course, but in ISWAK, they are not the only characters that matter. ISWAK is a drama in which thought is given to detail and in which an entire alternate reality has been carefully constructed. ~Love in Tokyo~, not so much.

take for example the side characters: in ~Love in Tokyo~ it feels like Kotoko’s girlfriends Satomi and Jinko exist only for the sake of being Kotoko’s girlfriends. you can’t imagine those characters existing without Kotoko because they weren’t given their own personalities to begin with. but in ISWAK, its different. Liu Nong and Chun Mei are clearly given their own personalities. (sorry i don’t remember enough of them to describe them lol, but you’d understand if you’ve watched both versions)

in ISWAK the house of the Jiang family has been strategically adorned to further establish the ISWAK world. for example: the Jiang family’s Incredibles-themed family portrait on the wall in their living room, the Jiang Dad’s collection of toy cars housed in a glass display, Zhi Shu’s impressive bookshelves that are crammed full of books, which stand behind his bed. small details that help to make these fictional characters feel real, like we’re watching a real family.

also, i really like how in ISWAK they make use of as many characters and scenarios as they can to create comedy. it makes for an awesome watch. for example, for now in ~Love in Tokyo~, Naoki’s kid brother Yuuki is only an annoying brat. but in ISWAK, the same character is more productively utilised to create comedic effect.

(in ~Love in Tokyo~, Naoki’s mother feels extremely artificial to me. that artificially bright tone of voice…)

you should never have characters in a story just to put them there. what’s the point of having characters that don’t add value to the story?

i can see that ~Love in Tokyo~ is more focused on Kotoko and Naoki alone. it never set out to create a world as real as ISWAK’s. i’m okay with that - its still a cute drama; i’m watching it for the cute.

You look quite handsome in this outfit.

Slipping away back to Jinchuan to start my career!

I'm not an expert on vintage Chinese cinema and I definitely haven't watched all (or even most) important vintage films, but I do have a lot of looks I enjoyed! Here are some of my favorites.

Don't Change Your Husband 情海重吻 (1929)

The whole movie is fabulous, but the leading lady's makeup look is just bewitchingly beautiful. It's the silent era vamp sad girl look for me.

And her dresses are SO GOOD.

10/10 would recommend.

啼笑姻缘 (1932)

Early 30s representation is difficult to come across, so I really appreciate all the looks in this film.

Finally seeing this aoqun/Western evening dress hybrid on a moving person instead of an artwork. The Deco background though!

And an unusual cheongsam. Both outfits could be corroborated by artworks by Ye Qianyu.

(First: far right)

(Second: bottom left)