#aoqun

ming dynasty miku!! 🪷

inspired by the “brazilian miku” trend on twitter and a gorgeous outfit i discovered from an online hanfu shop! link and close-ups under the cut :)

we interrupt your personaposting to bring you rosie mk

mk fans when you kiss your mirror idk nobodys read it /lighthearted

rosie is by @valleykey wahoo...

close ups under cut

Fall & Winter Golden Hanfu Outfits

Hi! Thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (image via)

No, I personally don't think hanfu should have an all-encompassing standard style. Rather than somehow mandating a standard style for everyone, I think it's better to let individual groups, organizations, and institutions set their own standard style if they wish.

Furthermore, as I explained in my post on how I feel about the inconsistency of the hanfu revival movement, even if there was a standard style, it would be very difficult to enforce.

If I had to choose a standard style, I'd probably go with the 交领襦裙/jiaoling (cross-collar) ruqun (image via):

I'd choose jiaoling ruqun because it's:

the most representative style of hanfu imo

commonly depicted in media (well-known)

relatively comfortable & easy to wear

unisex

As for the two options you suggested - 齐胸襦裙/qixiong (chest-high) ruqun & 袄裙/aoqun - while qixiong ruqun is iconic as the representative women's hanfu style of the Tang dynasty, it's not as convenient to wear compared to the other two styles (image via):

Compared to qixiong ruqun, aoqun is probably the better choice when considering convenience & comfort. It's also the representative women's hanfu style of the Ming dynasty, and thus more recent compared to other styles (image via):

With that said, I stick by my opinion that a representative standard style is not necessary for the hanfu revival.

The picrew (right) and an aoqun for comparison (left)

It was until the 1920s, when skirts of other construction became more popular. You can check out my series on early 20th century womenswear for the exact changes in skirt style through the decades. Skirts in formal ensembles like wedding qungua were still commonly made in the mamian style though, and some could be seen even today. Aoqun skirts faded into obscurity due to cheongsam replacing aoqun as standard womenswear since the 1930s, but they briefly resurfaced in the 1950s and that was the last we hear of them. It should be noted that early 20th century mamian skirts may not be consider genuine mamianqun, as they were often just pleated in a mamian style but didn't have two separate pieces of fabric i.e. the seams were sewn shut, and weren't actually wrap skirts as they could also be closed with buttons or hooks and eyes etc.

1910s cover of literary magazine 中华小说界, showing a mamian skirt.

Photograph of the Song sisters, showing 1920s skirt styles.

Infrographic about qungua from fashion historian 撷芳主人.