“旗袍”在英語中有一個(gè)固定的詞,不過是一個(gè)loanword,外來語,寫做cheongsam,是從廣東話Cantonese里來的。我們也可以拼寫為qipao或者chipao:
The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women; the male version is the changshan. It is known in Mandarin Chinese as the qipao or chipao, and is also known in English as a mandarin gown.
旗袍是中國一種緊身的連衣女子服飾,男子的被稱為長衫。英語中也用mandarin gown來表示這種服飾。
清朝時(shí)候的旗裝是很寬松的,1900年之后,在上海,旗袍的樣式發(fā)生了改變:
The modernized version is noted for accentuating the figures of women, and as such was popular as a dress for high society. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves, and the black lace frothing at the hem. By the 1940s, cheongsam came in a wide variety of fabrics with an equal variety of accessories.
現(xiàn)代版的旗袍很貼身,更能顯出女子的身材,為上流社會(huì)的女性所推崇。旗袍的式樣也跟隨西方時(shí)尚而變化,出現(xiàn)了高領(lǐng)無袖、喇叭狀袖子和黑色蕾絲泡泡鑲邊的款式。到上世紀(jì)四十年代,旗袍已經(jīng)有很多種不同材質(zhì)和配飾。
旗袍和長衫的那種標(biāo)志性小立領(lǐng)被稱為mandarin collar,a short unfolded stand-up collar style,而旗袍的那種盤扣被稱為frog,或者Chinese frog,frog在這里不是青蛙的意思哦,意為一種用細(xì)繩做的扣飾:
A frog (sometimes referred to as a Chinese frog) is an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that consists of a button and a loop through which it passes.
盤扣是一種裝飾性的編織狀扣子,用來扣住一件衣服的前襟。