Friday 9 November 2012

Chasing cheongsam at Shatin Racecourse on Sa Sa Ladies Purse Day

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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.
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.

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)