Cheongsam School Uniforms: Over Half a Century of Cultured Young Ladies

Hong Kong is the only Chinese society in the world where the cheongsam is still worn as a school uniform. Cheongsam uniforms have a long history in the territory and bear witness to the development of local girls’ education.

There were few rules governing school uniforms in Hong Kong before the Second World War. Girls in the territory initially wore plain and modest blouse-and-skirt outfits to school. Later on, these outfits were replaced by simple cheongsams, which then became the informal uniforms of secondary schoolgirls. While teachers also wore cheongsams, the school only specified the colour of the cheongsam to be worn by the girls, but not the material, style or detailed design of the dresses or the tailor shops from which they were to be commissioned. Parents could buy fabric and sew the uniforms for their daughters.

Strict regulations laying down requirements for school uniforms began to appear in Hong Kong after the Second World War, and this was a period that saw the formal adoption of the cheongsam as a school uniform. Despite the fact that the number of cheongsam wearers decreased dramatically from the 1970s onwards, the cheongsam has continued to be worn as a student uniform in over a dozen local secondary schools. One of the ideals of girls’ education in Hong Kong has long been to nurture cultured ladies, and a plain and modest cheongsam uniform helps achieve this by constantly reminding its wearer to behave well and act in a ladylike manner.