For the last few weeks I have been sharing a weekly vintage piece from our home for the Treasure of the Week series, and also writing a separate qipao (cheongsam)-related post. But it’s been a really busy week of moving and getting things installed in our new apartment, so this week I am cheating a little bit and combining the two together. Today I will be sharing some vintage favourites of mine, and also a great qipao outfit for the winter using these: a qipao with vintage fur jacket and hat.
My vintage fur jacket…
I bought the fur jacket at a vintage fair in Sydney about 5 or 6 years ago, along with another beautiful wool swing coat. I paid a good amount of money, I think $300-$400, and hesitated for quite a while over the decision. But the jacket was gorgeous, and actually came with an original valuation certificate (if I remember correctly, several thousand dollars from the 50s or 60s, which was a pretty substantial amount of money back then!). Unfortunately the certificate isn’t with me – the coat has lived across 3 different countries with me but I left the certificate behind somewhere in Sydney.
I love this jacket because it’s really warm, super versatile and pairs well with many things. I’ve worn it over jeans and boots, or for a more dressed up occasion, with a simple black pencil dress and pumps. And of course, it’s pretty perfect over qipaos.
Full front view of my vintage mink fur jacket. It doesn’t have any buttons and have slightly short bell shaped sleeves.
A close up of the label. EMBA was a fur association in the US that developed natural clear bright colours of mink fur.
… and (matching) hat
As for the hat, well the word “matching” is in brackets because it does match the jacket but I actually bought it completely separately. I lived in Boston from 2012-13, and having grown up in Sydney, arrived there in the fall of 2012 with an utter incomprehension of what a US north-east winter meant. It was freezing.
So once the chills hit (which was very shortly after I arrived!) I scrambled to look for a hat. And as luck would have it, I found this really cute fur hat on ebay which was a great colour and style match to my jacket. Unfortunately the hat is a little small for me so I never got much wear out of it. Still, it’s nice to have around…
A top view of my vintage fur hat.
Inside and label view of my vintage fur hat.
Qipao with vintage fur jacket: inspired by 1930s Shanghai fashion
It was in 1930s Shanghai that women started to pair their qipaos with western clothing pieces like fur to create these superbly chic outfits. So I picked a long floral qipao, reminiscent of 1930s Shanghai fashion, for these photos. Admittedly this particular qipao is made from a more summery material and on the thin side for winter, but the colours match really well, and I am having trouble fitting into a lot of the other long sleeved qipaos at this stage of pregnancy.
I like to wear the qipao with vintage fur jacket draped over the shoulders, particularly when I’m indoors. It lets you show off a little bit more of the dress. And I think maybe some gloves would be nice for being outdoors since the sleeves are a little short and bell shaped.
I also couldn’t help styling the jacket with another cute hat, just a simple wool bucket hat which is a bit more dressed down. What do you think? For other winter qipao ideas you can also check the post on my warm cashmere winter qipao or my red knitted stretch wool qipao and vintage Dior coat. And here is also some ideas on accessorising qipao with other hats as well as gloves. Enjoy –
I like the beige wool hat. What brand is it? Where did you find it?
Hi Samara, it was bought from a small store in Shanghai and not a specific brand. If you’re looking for something to go with a qipao, I think anything that is in a bucket hat shape would work!