Chapter 45 Section 4 General Women's Clothing

The clothing of ordinary women in the Ming Dynasty basically followed the styles of Tang and Song Dynasties, and restored the customs of the Han nationality.According to regulations, folk women can only use purple ink, not gold embroidery.If you wear a gown, you can only use purple, green, peach red and light colors, not bright red, crow blue, and yellow.The tunic shirts worn by scholars, concubines, wives and daughters can be made of silk, silk, or silk, but they must be light-colored.In the late Ming Dynasty, the prohibition was abolished, and the wealthy folk also wore red robes, and some even wore white robes.Beizi is a common clothing for women. Its style is similar to that of the Song Dynasty.Bijia is a double-breasted vest with no collar and sleeves, which is longer than the later vests.There is another kind of paddy field clothing, which is made up of sporadic silks and satins of various colors. It is named after the interlacing of various colors and looks like a paddy field. It is simple and unique, and was deeply loved by women at that time.It is quite similar to monks' "hundred patchwork clothes". In the period of the Republic of China, folk children also wore this kind of clothes for auspiciousness.In women's clothing, tops and skirts still account for a certain proportion, and their lengths can change at any time.During the Hongzhi period (AD 1488-1505), women's clothes only covered the waist of the skirt; in Zhengde (AD 1506-1521), the clothes gradually became larger and the skirt pleats gradually increased; in the early Jiajing period (AD 1522-1566), the clothes grew up to Below the knee, the skirt is short and has few pleats.Since then, with the development of the economy and the germination of capitalism, "the winds of the generations have changed, and everyone is interested in respecting luxury, and no longer knows that there are clear prohibitions" (Zhang Han's "Dream on the Pine Window").Women have changed from the plain clothes in the past, and are chasing after beauty and beauty.By the late Ming Dynasty, there were many kinds of skirts, and the skirt width increased to 10.The pleats around the waist are also denser, and some use one color for each pleat, and there are five colors, but they are all light in color. Cut into strips of different widths, each strip is embroidered with patterns, surrounded by gold thread, and then connected with the waist of the skirt to form a "phoenix skirt" and a "phoenix skirt" folded from the whole satin material. Pleated Skirt".The front of this kind of skirt is flat and unfolded, with decorative lace around it, and the inside is filled with colorful embroidered patterns, and the left and right sides are folded finely.There is another kind of "Acacia skirt", which is different from other skirts in that it is closed from the back to the front.There were different popular colors in each period of the Ming Dynasty.In the early Ming Dynasty, it was light, and in the late Ming Dynasty, moon white was often used with various embroidery and lace.Most women in the Ming Dynasty had their feet bound, and some wore bow shoes.Bow shoes are a kind of pointed shoes, the toe of the shoe is upturned like a bow, and the sole is generally used.There are two types: a flat heel, the sole of which is sewn with multiple layers of coarse cloth; the other is a high heel, which is lined with wood blocks on the heel, with camphor wood as the bottom.Older women wear flat shoes.Crested shoes are still a kind of shoe style for women, and the shoes are either embroidered or decorated with pearls.