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| This is the enclosure where the horses are paraded before races. |
Every now and then, anthropologists, in search of stories about people and things, can be led up the garden path, or as in this case, be led on a wild goose chase to the racetrack.
The cheongsam is a one-piece Chinese ladies dress that
originated in 1919 when a group of female students in Peking adopted a version
of the male changsan, a long robe,
derived from the Manchu magau,
discarding the blouse-and-skirt ensemble that had been in fashion since the
1911 Revolution. The cheongsam, or qipao
(Mandarin), was the dress for progressive women and leading female
intellectuals. During the 1950s and the 1960s, the qipao lost its elitist image and became a more general trendy form
of daywear.
This early 20th-century symbol of modernity has once again
become elitist mostly due to its prohibitive cost and contemporary Chinese women’s preference for Western brands, which they now see as being ‘modern’ and
progressive. A proper fitting cheongsam requires three to four fittings
and takes about a month to make from a specialist tailor. They are mostly
ordered for important family events such as weddings and days with special
significance, such as the 1997 handover day when Britain returned Hong Kong to
China. Many women wanted ‘something Chinese’ to wear on that day.
I have been in conversation with Mrs F, a local Hong Kong
cheongsam tailor about life in Hong Kong, the intricacies of making the
deceptively delicate-looking cheongsam by hand, procuring fabrics and why her
clients commission these beautiful feminine dresses today. The cheongsam is a
versatile garment that can be fashioned to suit any occasion. But it is the
white wedding dress that you see so often in the parks, piazzas and natural
beauty spots on soon-to-be brides.
Along the Mid-level escalator there are many wedding dress
shops and wedding photographers that offer extensive packages for shoots in
exotic destinations. A visit to one of these shops led me to Leon, an accessory
maker with a tiny shop near Nam Cheong Street that resembles a cabinet of
curiosities and is much loved by design students. One thing led to the other and Leon invited me to the Sa Sa Ladies Purse Day at the
Shatin Racecourse to watch a show by a contemporary fashion designer who wants
to revive traditional Chinese dresses. I was even offered one of these beautiful
dresses to wear on Ladies Purse Day at the races.
The journey to Shatin took on a bizarre quality as most of
the commuters were hardened punters who were studying the racing schedules either
in newspapers or small booklets. None of them seemed remotely interested in the
Sa Sa affaire, just anxiously plotting their day’s bettings. The MTR link to
the Shatin racecourse from central Kong Kong is pretty efficient, and an elevated walkway
leads straight from the station to the racecourse. Entry to the premises cost around HK$10, less than a pound, from where you enter a huge hanger,
lined with horse sculptures on the one side, and sales tables for Sa Sa Ladies
Purse Day merchandise on the other. After a long walk to the member’s enclosure
where I was to meet Leon, I had to bluff my way in and up to the Bauhunia
restaurant as no Leon could be found nor did he respond to calls. There was a
table booked under his name though, so things looked up. After two hours, no one
else had arrived at the table, and I ordered what must be the best roast
chicken in Shatin. After another half an hour, the rest of the troops arrived
and they fell on the food and tea. These hungry students were to model the
costumes based on traditional cheongsam styles.
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| Any opportunity, a photo opportunity |
Still no Leon. Still no phone contact. Fashion shows came
and went between the races, but no traditional costumes to be seen except if you count in
the delicious pink puffballs worn by models in the ladies toilet. Odd groups of
girls approached the table to pick up headgear, mostly feathery fascinators
that I presume came from Leon’s shop.
Still no Leon, still no telephone contact. So I left and
took some pictures of girls on stiletto heels taking pictures of each other in
front of the horse sculptures and the Sa Sa Ladies Purse Day merchandise in the
now deserted hanger. Guess what, a week later Leon called to apologize for his
poor arrangement. But I think he was really calling to find out if I knew who
had the cheongsam costumes as there was a furious designer demanding
compensation for lost goods.
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| Sa Sa Ladies Day merchandise - Barbie land? |
Not a lot gained about cheongsam, but I now know the story of the origins
of Ladies Purse Day which is pretty charming and that Sa Sa is one of the largest purveyors of cosmetics
in Asia.
In a tradition established a
century ago, the jockey, owner and trainer of the winning horse would be
awarded gold sovereigns by a renowned lady. When Hong Kong racing turned
professional in 1971, the custom of presenting gold sovereigns was dropped. It
was reintroduced in 1990, using a Hong Kong Lunar New Year gold coin instead of
a sovereign. Nowadays, a gold coin contained in a wallet will be presented to
the winning jockey, owner and trainer. (HKJC website)
