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  • Cheongsam tailoring tools: Bamboo tailor's rulers with Cantonese scale (1)
    Bamboo tailor's ruler with Cantonese scale
    1910s to 1950s
    Hong Kong Museum of History collection
    The making of cheongsam starts with taking the customer's measurements. Due to the deep-rooted belief that men and women should keep a respectable distance, cheongsam tailors continued to use hard rulers for measurement until after the Second World War. Given the distance between the ruler and the customer's body, the tailor's visual judgment and experience were crucial for producing cheongsam that met customer expectations.
    Shanghai tailors who came to Hong Kong initially used Shanghai rulers, but later switched to Cantonese rulers. One Shanghai foot equals 13.59 inches, whereas one Cantonese foot is equivalent to 14.67 inches. The rulers were made of bamboo, wood, iron or copper.
  • Cheongsam tailoring tools: Bamboo tailor's rulers with Cantonese scale (2)
    Bamboo tailor's ruler with Cantonese scale
    1910s to 1950s
    Hong Kong Museum of History collection
    The making of cheongsam starts with taking the customer's measurements. Due to the deep-rooted belief that men and women should keep a respectable distance, cheongsam tailors continued to use hard rulers for measurement until after the Second World War. Given the distance between the ruler and the customer's body, the tailor's visual judgment and experience were crucial for producing cheongsam that met customer expectations.
    Shanghai tailors who came to Hong Kong initially used Shanghai rulers, but later switched to Cantonese rulers. One Shanghai foot equals 13.59 inches, whereas one Cantonese foot is equivalent to 14.67 inches. The rulers were made of bamboo, wood, iron or copper.
  • Cheongsam tailoring tools: Bamboo tailor's rulers with Cantonese scale (3)
    Bamboo tailor's ruler with Cantonese scale
    1910s to 1950s
    Hong Kong Museum of History collection
    The making of cheongsam starts with taking the customer's measurements. Due to the deep-rooted belief that men and women should keep a respectable distance, cheongsam tailors continued to use hard rulers for measurement until after the Second World War. Given the distance between the ruler and the customer's body, the tailor's visual judgment and experience were crucial for producing cheongsam that met customer expectations.
    Shanghai tailors who came to Hong Kong initially used Shanghai rulers, but later switched to Cantonese rulers. One Shanghai foot equals 13.59 inches, whereas one Cantonese foot is equivalent to 14.67 inches. The rulers were made of bamboo, wood, iron or copper.
  • Cheongsam tailoring tools: Measuring tape with Cantonese scale
    Measuring tape with Cantonese scale
    1960s to 1970s
    Hong Kong Museum of History collection
    In the 1950s, cheongsam tailors began to use measuring tapes for more accurate measurements crucial for making body-hugging cheongsam. The two sides of the measuring tapes show different scales: the British inch is represented in red and the Cantonese cun in black.
  • Cheongsam tailoring tools: Chalk powder bags
    Chalk powder bags
    1960s to 1970s
    Hong Kong Museum of History collection
    The chalk powder bag is a small leather or fabric pouch holding coloured chalk powder with both ends fastened by a thread. A cord consisting of several strands of cotton thread runs through the centre. As the cord is pulled out of the bag, the coloured chalk powder adhering to it casts lines on the fabric, which is then cut along the chalk marks. Tailors usually have several of these bags each containing a different colour powder to be used on fabrics of different colours.
  • Cheongsam tailoring tools: Triangular chalk cakes
    Triangular chalk cakes
    1960s to 1970s
    Hong Kong Museum of History collection
    The chalk cake is a key tool whether the tailor is casting patterns directly onto a fabric or cutting out fabrics according to a paper pattern. Chalk cakes come in different colours and are often pulverised to produce the powder for the chalk powder bags.
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