Hong Kong Fashionistas: The Singers

I couldn't resist these two stylish young ladies, whose photos are currently going for auction on eBay right now.


The first is Lee Bo Ying (李寶瑩), a Cantonese opera singer who made some 40 films between 1954 and 1965. She was dubbed "Little Fong Yim Fun" (小芳艷芬) after renowned "Queen of Cantonese Opera" Fong Yim Fun. This YouTube clip shows Lee singing "Sorrows of the Autumn Boudoir" from her film debut, It's Fun Getting Together (1954).


And this is Fong Tsin Ying (方靜音), who also had a diminutive nickname: "Little Chang Loo" (小張露). Like Chang Loo, Fong was known for her vivacious singing and stage presence. Sadly, her life was cut short in 1959 by a deadly traffic accident. Check out her fabulous version of Georgia Gibb's 1955 hit "Kiss Me Another".

Anna May Wong: Style Goddess

The always fashionable Anna May Wong on the cover of Spanish movie magazine Cinegramas (March 1935). Find the real deal here.

Shanghai Fashionistas: The Thirties

I just discovered these fabulous vintage Shanghai fashion illustrations on eBay, my favorite hunting ground for ephemeral treasures. They're allegedly from a 1930 magazine. To see the illustrations on the backside of these prints or to buy them for yourself, click here and here.





And while we're on the subject of Chinese fashion, let me recommend two items I recently enjoyed: Antonia Finnane's book Changing Clothes in China: Fashion, History, Nation (2008); and Mao's New Suit (1997), Sally Ingleton's documentary about pioneering designers Sun Jian and Guo Pei.

Gaga for Bingbing

Excuse me for gushing over my new favorita, Miss Li Bingbing, who has knocked me over with a one-two punch of recent photo shoots. The picture above comes from a candid series taken at the Piazza San Marco in Venice, where she's been attending the International Film Festival in support of her new movie Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (directed by the once — and hopefully still — visionary Tsui Hark).

At the opposite end of the fashion spectrum are these two stunning photos from a spread in the forthcoming October issue of Harper's Bazaar China. I'm so wowed by them that I'm compelled to break my self-imposed exile in the glamor of yesteryear and celebrate Miss Li's contemporary, yet classic, allure.





* Thanks to fellow fans dleedlee and ewaffle for setting the bait!

The Art of the Qipao

During my recent trip to Malaysia I stopped for a few days in Hong Kong, where I was lucky to catch an extraordinary exhibit at the Museum of History: The Evergreen Classic – Transformation of the Qipao. Tracing the evolution of the qipao (or cheongsam, as it's known in Cantonese) from its origins as the gown worn by Manchu women during the Qing dynasty to its golden age in 1930s Shanghai and subsequent efflorescence in post-war Hong Kong, the show features an astonishing 280 qipao as well as more than 400 photographs.

As you can see from my photos below, it's a sight to behold, whether you're a dedicated lover or just a casual fan. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer number and variety on display that I planned to return for a second visit but didn't have the time. Unfortunately, no catalog was published for this exhibit (a colossal missed opportunity that I'm still scratching my head about), so get yourself to Hong Kong by September 13 if you can't bear to miss this rare and precious spectacle.

A PDF of the exhibition pamphlet is available here.

Jue Quon Tai: Pretty and Pantaletted

SHE'S CHINESE AND PRETTY AND PANTALETTED

The pantalette gown has reached the Pacific Coast. The first person to wear it in Oregon was Jue Quon Tai, the belle of Portland's Chinatown and daughter of a wealthy Chinese merchant. Miss Jue has stage aspirations.

— Evening Public Ledger, March 24, 1915

In August I'll be picking up the threads of Jue Quon Tai's fascinating story, which I started telling nearly a year ago and then left dangling in midair. Since then, I've been contacted by members of her family and have gathered more information and material about her life. In the meantime you can refresh yourself about her 1915 vaudeville debut here.

Chen Man: Better than Andy on Adam

A big thanks to dleedlee for turning me on to photographer Chen Man. I'd already seen, and dug, a lot of her fashion photography — especially her recent shoot for Esquire featuring actress Fan Bingbing as Che Guevara, Bruce Lee, Superman, and Elvis Presley — but never knew who it was behind the camera. After googling some of her other work, I'm really blown away by her trippy avant-pop sensibility.

Chen Man just had a show in Hong Kong, which I'm bummed about missing. But the good news is that a book of her photographs, Chen Man: Works 2003-2010, was recently published. I ordered a copy yesterday, and it's already on its way — hurray! I'll report back as soon as it arrives.

* The photos above were taken from Chen Man's blog. She also has a website.

Stardolls: The Fun Continues

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been on a Stardoll bender the past ten days. Whew... talk about a lost weekend!

Here are a few more looks that I received in my inbox...

GoldenPigsy braved the ridicule of his friends to make these outfits for Fan Bingbing and Faye Wong. When he's not playing Stardoll, our porcine pal dishes out "brain slop" (which includes great reviews of bizarre Taiwanese wuxia movies) at his blog GoldenPigsy's Gilded Trough.

Here's Gong Li and Jay Chou, courtesy of Lucky Cat Zoë. Besides whiling away her time figuring out every possible combination of Jay Chou's impressive accessory collection, Zoë throws together a tasty chop suey of reggae, blues, and vintage Asian pop for her fabulous online radio show, Lucky Cat. If you've never had the pleasure of listening to one of her programs, get your ears over to Zoë's podcast archive. And then follow her on Blogger or Facebook, so you don't miss out on her next series of shows.

Finally, let me conclude this post with a double dose of cute and a solemn promise that I will never play with nor post a Stardoll ever again! ;p

Let's Play Stardolls!

A few readers were game enough to submit some of their creations after wasting precious moments of their lives at Stardoll. First up are Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi, dressed up courtesy of ewaffle, who specializes in observant and amusing fashion commentary at his blog Favorite Hong Kong Actresses. He's dressed Maggie (one of his "favorites") much as she might look in real life; while for Zhang Ziyi, he's imagined an outfit she might have worn if Zhang Yimou had made a Category III wuxia film — House of the Naked Killers, anyone?

Next on the runway are Faye Wong and Maggie, both dressed in a funky mix-and-match mode by sbk and dleedlee (respectively). sbk is an Asian movie fan and Holga mistress who loves to double expose at her blog Pictures, Thoughts and Comments. dleedlee is the unsung hero who trawls the World Wide Web for all the latest Chinese movie news and gossip, which he presents fresh daily on his blog Roast Pork Sliced from a Rusty Cleaver.

Finally, here's Bai Ling dressed by me. Although she is much maligned for her nip slips and funky outfits, I have a soft spot for kooky individualists like Miss Bai. I'm not exactly a fan (although I loved her in Dumplings), but I will always stand in her defense.

Anyway, many thanks to dleedlee, ewaffle, and sbk for sharing their outfits! If anyone else wants to join the fun, send me your looks and I'll post them next week.

Hong Kong Fashionistas: Sweet and Sour

Don't you just love Wong Gam Oi's sweet bobby-soxer look, with silk jacket in lieu of a sweater.


Holy mother of funk! Liu Qi's knit leotard struts that fine line between sexy and nappy. Looking at it makes my eyes pucker with pleasure!

Hong Kong Fashionista: Patricia Lam Fung

After dressing up Maggie Cheung, I feel inspired to post a few more fashion-related items. Here are three photos of the always stylish Patricia Lam Fung. I believe they originally appeared as glossy cardstock inserts in local newspapers. The cards could be cut out, and of course collected. They're not as fabulous as her color "Teen Fashion" cards but still quite nice.

Dressing up Maggie Cheung

Don't ask me to explain, but somehow I ended up at this website called Stardoll, where you can dress up your favorite celebrities, including — to my surprise — Maggie Cheung. (Sorry, guys! Lo Lieh is not available for dressing up.)

To the left is my first attempt ever at this kind of thing. (Don't laugh!) If anyone else wants to play... lol... just email me your outfits and I'll post them. I'm certainly not advocating that any of you join Stardoll. Just use your computer's "print screen" function and then crop the resulting screen capture with whatever image editing software you happen to have.

If no one wants to join me, that's fine. I'm just as happy playing by myself!

Anna May Wong's Painted Knees

Ever hear of painted knees? Nope? Me neither. Evidently it was quite the fashion accessory for flappers back in '25. Reminds me of the body painting of the sixties. I guess the flappers were the original mod girls.

The following headline and blurb accompanied this cute photo of Anna May, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 1, 1925:

Painted Monkey Graces Knee of Almond-Eyed Film Star
Anna May Wong, Chinese screen actress, who has adopted the fad of having her knees painted. The much-discussed evolution monkey adorns Anna May's limbs.

Pretty cool, huh! However, I'm of the opinion that it's not Scopes' monkey who's climbing Anna May's calf — but mischievous Sun Wukong, the Monkey King!

Chinatown Girls: Mary Mammon and Dorothy Sun

Featured in Arthur Dong's documentary Forbidden City U.S.A. (1989), Mary Mammon and Dorothy Sun performed in the original chorus line at the legendary "all-Chinese" San Francisco nightclub. In 1938 owner Charlie Low put out a call for dancers. Because local girls faced too much opposition from their families, the only girls who applied were those from out of town — like Mary Mammon, born and raised in Clifton, Arizona, and Dorothy Sun, born in Coulterville (a mining town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada) and raised in the California Delta.

Mary and Dorothy must have been great pals, because they evidently worked together through much of the 40s: on and off at the Forbidden City and other San Francisco clubs, such as the Lion's Den; and on the road in Kenneth Walker's "Chinese Follies" revue, which toured the U.S. and entertained troops with the USO in the South Pacific.

From what I can tell, Mary was the sexy one, with her hula and fan dances, while Dorothy was the funny one, with her "eccentric" dance parodies.

Here are the two in an Associated Press feature about Mary Mammon that ran in Sunday papers all across the country. This particular scan comes from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette (June 15, 1941).

CHINATOWN GIRL

Chinatown in San Francisco, where 20,000 persons live in less thank 20 square blocks, is the largest Chinese settlement outside the Orient. Once it was reputed to hold all the sins and exotic charms of Old China. But a new generation is in command. Schools, churches and playgrounds have routed oldtime tong wars and racial taboos. Authentic Chinatown fixtures remain mostly for the tourist trade. The commerce and the way of living is one of America's newest revolutions in this best known foreign quarter of any U.S. city. The women, who not so long ago lived in household seclusion, have stepped into the new role of being American women. Mary Mammon is typical.


A LATE SLEEPER, Mary's hours would have shocked old Chinatown. She is a featured dancer in one of the new night clubs, timidly opened but an instant success. Now she gets home in the small hours, but the family — mother, sister, two brothers — doesn't mind.


SOCIAL LIFE is a daylight pursuit. Mary loves soda fountain lunches, scoffs at chop suey, but likes mother's real Chinese cooking. At 22, Mary, who was born in New Mexico, chooses her own "dates", clothes, employment, and is popular in the community.


AT WORK, Mary and chum, Dorothy, dance and sing in the Lion's Den club. Pay is not high by American theater standards, but Chinatown girls find employment limited; to them, wages are tops.



STYLISTS say, dollar for dollar, Chinese girls dress more smartly than their American sisters. Top, Mary at her daily pressing job; bottom, stepping along tong-scarred old Waverly Place with pal, Dorothy Sun. Note aged delivery man with tray on head, a survival.


MARKETING takes the girls into a shop brimming with exotic foods, preferred to those in Americanized stores. "Delicacies" here don't tempt Americans. Mary wanted some hard dried fish — among other "native" items on her list. A sale is a ceremony.


STUDY has meant much to Mary — high school education, speedy Americanization. Her father (deceased) changed family name, Mar, to Mammon.


SUNBATHS, slacks, shorts cause oldsters to wag heads, but are common. And permanent waves are slowly turning black hair to brown.


FIRST JOB was typing, then Mary waited tables. When demand for Chinese entertainers arose, she studied dancing. Meanwhile, war in China liberalized the community — women helped with relief work.


AT HOME, furnishings are American style. But the women still treasure their embroidered silks, the tight, slinky gowns of Old China, however ill-adapted they may be to modern athletic figures.

* The Forbidden City ad at the top of the page comes from The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.