Essential Tips on How to Choose Hanfu for Newcomers

Many newcomers to hanfu often wonder, what hanfu style suits me? Which dynasty hanfu style is more suitable for my body shape?

If you have this same confusion, please don't worry, after all, hanfu is a brand new style of clothing for most people, but it's really not that complicated. In this article, I will share a few hanfu selection suggestions for you, which will start from the most common hanfu styles and eliminate your confusion.

 

Hanfu Fashion Trends

Hanfu is the collective name for the costumes of the ancient Chinese dynasties, which has a distinctive brand of the times and contains very deep historical values, in addition to the unique aesthetic orientation of hanfu, which is also very appealing.

So there is a wide range of hanfu, both the "Classical Hanfu" that adheres to the traditional form; there are also many fashionable "Hanfu Inspired" models, which retain some of the hanfu design, but by and large are more modern. If you want to choose a traditional hanfu that has a deep ancient charm, you may need to have an understanding of the form before you buy it.

 

The essential knowledge of choosing hanfu

How to choose a Wei-Jin period hanfu

Many newcomers to Hanfu can't tell the difference between "Wei-Jin Hanfu" and "Wei Jin style Hanfu" and always wonder why there is such a big difference between the two styles even though they both name the Wei Jin period.

The former is plain and understated, with conservative sleeve and skirt designs, while the latter is particularly elegant and handsome, with exaggerated skirt and sleeve designs, making it very chivalrous to wear.

In fact, the Wei-Jin Hanfu is the traditional Hanfu form. Take the Jin Ru as an example, its design is relatively simple and plain, with a curved collar; the sleeve shape is mostly narrow; and the length of the upper Ru is longer, which can wrap around the hips and needs to be wrapped under the skirt to be worn inside.

In addition, the half-sleeve skirt Ru was also very popular in the Wei-Jin period, and the length of the half-sleeve was just above the shoulder, which could be worn on the Jin Ru to reflect a very good sense of layering.

The "Wei Jin Style Hanfu" is not strictly speaking part of the traditional Chinese costume, it is based on the improvement of the hanfu and the style of dramas, and the design of this costume fulfills people's fantasy of the Wei Jin style. It is characterized by a flowing and elegant style, with the usual cross-collar shirt with large sleeves, wide sleeves and a wide skirt.

How to choose a Tang-style Qixiong Ruqun

The Tang-style Qixiong Ruqun is graceful and atmospheric, and it is perhaps the first hanfu that many people choose. And there are two things you need to pay attention to when buying a Qixiong Ruqun.

First, the Qixiong Ruqun should not be too long, and should be as ankle-length as possible, as this will not show dragging, so be sure to measure your height before buying.

Secondly, Qixiong Ruqun sometimes need to be paired with invisible straps, and when shopping try not to choose the 6-meter hem, two-piece, and also play a lot of pleats. Because although these designs will make your skirt look more gorgeous atmosphere, but the weight of the skirt also skyrocketed, that it will make your whole person look particularly bloated.

 

How to better match different hanfu styles

From simple to complex color matching

The biggest shortcut to reflect the classical sense of hanfu is to match the colors, so it is very wise to choose the traditional Chinese colors for hanfu. The five traditional Chinese colors: "red, cyan, yellow, white and black" have basically set the tone of color scheme.

The first is the most characteristic "black and white ink color scheme", which is mostly used in hanfu that have an airy and fairy style, such as the long Beizi of the Song Dynasty or the stand collar Shan of the Ming Dynasty. The red color can be used in a large area in the Ji Fu (auspicious clothes). Cyan is very inclusive and can be used in a variety of hanfu styles.

After mastering the basic color matching ideas, you need to pay attention to a set of clothes should never be too many kinds of colors, generally keep in 3 colors can be, from simple to complex is a very advanced color matching skills. We have to do is to choose one or two brightness purity moderate color as the main color, and then supplemented by a bright color to do embellishment transition.

Choose skin-friendly materials that drape well

Because of the shape of the hanfu, it is often stuffy to wear it in layers, so the inside of the hanfu must be skin-friendly and breathable.
We try to choose natural fabrics such as cotton or silk to be comfortable to wear.

For the outer wear, can choose light and cool gauze fabrics, such as chiffon and organza. Also can choose a more heavy end elegant satin and other standing fabrics.

If it is summer, we can directly wear a cotton Moxiong or camisole, match a semi-transparent chiffon Song long Beizi with pleated skirt, or with gauze fabric Ming stand collar Shan and Mamian skirt.

Choose a hanfu that suits your body type

Petite girls should try to avoid long hanfu style, like long Shan, long skirts, long Ao, etc. They are easy to show dragging, so it is recommended to try the more compact version of Song Ku and San Jian Qun (三裥裙). The former is more everyday and lightweight, the latter is more elegant and beautiful, and we must choose a high waist model when choosing, so that the design can highlight a more perfect proportion of the body.

If you are a slightly chubby body shape, you can try the Song style hanfu, because the Song dynasty people were beautiful with thinness, so the Song hanfu is very skinny to wear.

The "Song Moxiong + Beizi + San Jian Qun" is both simple and cooling, creating a smooth body line.

Hanfu has endless charm, its long history and deep cultural connotations determine the variety of its forms, so we will inevitably feel complicated when we first come into contact with hanfu.

You need to have a general understanding of hanfu before you buy it, and as your knowledge of hanfu deepens and you browse through more hanfu styles, you won't find it a difficult thing to buy hanfu.