I hate hippy dippy spiritual shit with a passion, but damn if the artists way isn’t making my brain do more arty things
For week 2, you’re supposed to write a list of 20 things you like to do and the date you last did them. Then, you pick 2 and intentionally do them within your week. The two I picked were doing a treadmill strut workout (shout out to benntheredonethat on tiktok) and making a fashion video. And idk if it’s the placebo effect, but damn if I don’t feel better already!!!
Katara's Ba Sing Se dress is inspired by changyi robes (氅衣), which were full-length gowns worn by Manchu noblewomen during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). Characteristics of changyi include high slits on both sides of the dress, prominent trim along the openings of the robe, and a rounded cross collar (pianjin/偏襟). Around the beginning of the 20th-century, standing collars and more fitted silhouettes also became common on changyi and other Manchu women's clothing. Overall, Katara's Ba Sing Se dress possesses many characteristics of a late Qing Dynasty changyi.
However, similar to her headdress, her robe isn't 100% historically accurate. The standing collar doesn't appear to be directly attached to the pianjin opening and her sleeves appear to be modeled more after hanfu than qizhuang (Qing Manchu clothing). Nonetheless, her design still alludes to a very specific period in Chinese fashion history, rather than simply being a generic "Asian-esque" dress. Plus, the design is just lovely!
Fun Fact: The cloud pattern on Katara's dress is known as xiangyun (祥雲) or "lucky clouds" in Mandarin. Clouds are considered auspicious imagery in Chinese culture due to the Mandarin word for cloud (yún / 雲) sounding similar to the Mandarin word for good fortune (yùn / 運).
Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^