What is a Hanfu?

A Hanfu (simplified Chinese: 汉服; traditional Chinese: 漢服; pinyin: Hànfú) is a type of traditional Chinese clothing that started to be worn by both Chinese men and women during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.).
Traditionally, a Hanfu dress is an outfit that consists of a upper garment such as a dress/robe, a jacket or a shirt that is associated with a skirt commonly worn as the lower garment. In addition to clothing, hanfu dresses also included several forms of accessories, such as a belt, footwear, headwear, jewelry, a jade pendant called yupei (玉佩) and hand fans.

Traditional Chinese clothes from the past, nowadays, the Hanfu is starting to be be worn again in China and overseas and is experiencing a revival into fashion popularity worldwide.

Where to buy Hanfu?

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Hanfu Parts

1. Upper Garment

Yi	衣	Open cross-collar shirt.
Ru	襦	Open cross-collar shirt, only worn by women.

2. Lower Garment

Ku	裤	Trousers or pants.
Chang	裳	Skirt for men.
Qun	裙	Skirt for women.

3. Full-body Cloth

Pao	袍	Closed full-body garment.
Chang ru	长襦	Long skirt, only worn by women.

4. Outer Garment

Ao	袄	Multi-layer open cross-collar shirt or jacket.
Shan	衫	Single-layer open cross-collar shirt or jacket.
Banbi	半臂	A half-sleeved waistcoat.
Bixi	蔽膝	A cloth attached from the waist, covering front of legs.
Dou Peng	斗篷	Cape.
Pifeng	披风	Cloak.
Pibo	披帛	A long silk scarf, however not used to cover neck. Sometimes covering shoulders, other times just hanging from elbow.
Zhao shan	罩衫	Cloaking coat. Usually open at the front.

5. Inner Garment

Dudou	肚兜	Belly Cover. Covers front upper body. Worn by women and children.
Moxiong	抹胸	Tube top. Worn by women.
Zhongyi	中衣	Inner garments, mostly white cotton or silk. Also called zhongdan (中单).

Styles of Hanfu Clothing

Among the different Chinese dynasties, Hanfu style clothing evolved into different styles such as:

Ruqun Hanfu

Ruqun Style Hanfu (襦裙) is composed by a short jacket typically called ru (Chinese: 襦; pinyin: rú) that is worn under a long Chinese skirt called qun (Chinese: 裙; pinyin: qún) and was the most basic set of clothing of Han Chinese women in China during the Han Dynasty. Other types of Ruqun include the shanqun (衫裙) and the aoqun (袄裙).

Beizi Hanfu

Beizi Style Hanfu (褙子) is composed by a large loose outer coat with loose and long sleeves worn by both men and women during the Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and from the early Qing to the Mid-Qing dynasty

Shenyi Hanfu

Shenyi Style Hanfu (深衣) is a one-piece garment that covers the entire body with a high collar and long, narrow sleeves. Shenyi was the mainstream clothing choice in China for men and Women during the Qin and Han dynasties

Shanku Hanfu

Shanku Style Hanfu (衫褲, lit. Shirt Trousers), sometimes also refer to as aoku, ruku, kuxi or kuzhe is a two-piece set of attire in Hanfu composed by a Chinese upper garment which typically overlaps and closes on the right side which could be called shan (衫), ru (襦), ao (袄; 襖), and a pair of long trousers ku (裤; 褲).

Types of Hanfu

Traditional Hanfu

1. Tang Dynasty Hanfu

Regardless of social status, Hanfu clothing for women in the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD) included a shan (衫; a long overcoat or long blouse), ru (襦; a short sweater), a banbi ( 半臂, a waistcoat or outerwear with short sleeves), a pibo (披帛, a long silk scarf that didn't cover the neck, but mostly the shoulders or hanged from elbow), and qun (裙; usually wide, loose skirt which was almost ankle-length).

However, During Tang Dynasty era, common people were not allowed to wear yellow-colored Hanfu clothing as it was reserved only for the Emperor as well as purple purple, red, green and cyan that were reserved for officials.

2. Ming Dynasty Hanfu

Ming Dynasty Hanfu clothing refers to the clothing system in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During this period, Hanfu became to be made silk instead of cloth, the traditional single blue tone left for a more richer panel of colors and was designed with round-necked collar, which was one of the measures to restore the Han style clothing.

Moreover, changes in the upper and lower garment were also made by increasing the length of the top and reducing the length of the skirt. This modification changed completely the shape of the outfit and made the human body look longer, which was considered more appealing.

3. Song Dynasty Hanfu

Song Dynasty Hanfu clothing refers to the clothing system in the Song Dynasty (960–1279). During this period, progress in dyeing technology offered people Hanfu clothing with low saturation and light colors such as black-purple, green-white, and silver-gray.

Silk as fabric was a standard and Hanfu were mostly designed with a straight collar.

4. Han Dynasty Hanfu

During the Han Dynasty period in China (206 B.C. to 220 A.D), Hanfu clothing became more standardized. Mostly, Han Dynasty Hanfu was designed with wide sleeves and with the left side of the upper garment overlapping the right side of the Chinese gown. The dress didn't have any buttons, and used a string as belt

For the color tones, dark and intense colors such as black, red, brown color were very trendy. Noble & elite class's dress in this period was mixed with multiple dark colors while the general population worn more light-colored clothes, such as khaki, green, that were the original color of dress materials.

5. Qing Dynasty Hanfu

During the Qing Dynasty period in China (1636–1912), Hanfu clothing consists of a formal dress with arrow sleeves (箭袖), Pi collar (披领, needs to be worn separately.) robe, a sleeveless long top and a skirt

6. Jin Dynasty Hanfu

During the Jin Dynasty period in China (266–420), Hanfu clothing was characterized by: wide, symmetrical lapels, wide sleeves, and in the cuffs, lapels, hem decorated with different colors of the edge, under the striped inter-color skirt, the waist with a piece of silk belt tied.

7. Qin Dynasty Hanfu

8. Yuan Dynasty Hanfu

9. Shang Dynasty Hanfu

10. Zhou Dynasty Hanfu

Modern Hanfu

Modern Hanfu is an improved version that features the from the famous elements of traditional Hanfu, while benefiting from the innovation and development modern clothing.

Thus, modern style hanfu offers a beaufitul mix between classic and retro styles hanfu clothing from China using a western-style three-dimensional cutting and a combination of retro patterns and trendy colors.

How to wear a Hanfu?

There are many different ways to wear hanfu, and the specific style of dress will vary depending on the occasion and the type of outfit that you will wear. For formal occasions, such as weddings or important festivals, richer and more ornate hanfu styles are typically worn. In contrast, simpler and more subdued hanfu may be worn for everyday activities.

To correctly wear hanfu, one must first understand the basic components of the clothing. Hanfu consists of a shirt or blouse (qun), a skirt or pants (shang), and a cloak or outer garment (pao). The shirt or blouse is worn next to the skin, while the skirt or pants are worn over top. The cloak or outer garment is then worn over top of the other clothing.

now follow these steps:

1. Put on the upper garment

When putting on hanfu, one should start with the shirt or blouse. The sleeves of the shirt should be pulled down so that they cover the hands. The front panel of the shirt should then be pulled up and over the head. Once the head and arms are through, the shirt should be adjusted so that it hangs down straight.

2. Put on the lower garment

The skirt or pants are then put on next. For a skirt, the waistband should be pulled up and over the hips. The skirt should then be adjusted so that it falls evenly around the body. For pants, the waistband should be pulled up and over the hips, and then the pants should be pulled up to the waist. The pants should also be adjusted so that they fit snugly but not too tightly around the legs.

3. Put on the outer garment

Finally, the cloak or outer garment is put on. The cloak should be draped over the shoulders so that it hangs down evenly in front and back. Once the cloak is in place, it can be fastened at the front with a sash or other type of closure.

4. Ajust again everything together

After the hanfu is properly put on, the sleeves and hem should be adjusted so that they hang evenly. The shirt or blouse should also be smoothed down so that it lies flat against the body. Finally, the hair can be styled and adorned as desired.

With these tips, you will be able to wear hanfu correctly and look your best!