Recently, the new drama A Good Match for Chen and Jin starring Ren Min and Ci Sha started filming. Netizens directly called out the costumes they wore, saying, "These clothes are so bad. Change them quickly!" Why did netizens say so? The costume style of this drama is in the Ming Dynasty style. In Ming-style costumes, the most important aspects are the clothing pattern, texture, and the allowance.
The pattern can only be seen when the clothes are laid flat, so the most obvious thing recognizable to the naked eye is the allowance issue, which directly affects the clothing pattern. The allowance here refers to the "total sleeve length". Some formal wear patterns pay attention to "the sleeve should reach beyond the wrist when the arm is bent back". That is, when cutting, there should be enough room for the arm to bend, so that the sleeve length won't be affected when the arm is bent. When the wearer bends their arm, this kind of sleeve will present a beautiful streamline.
Previously, the costumes in The Ninth Purple were criticized by netizens. The clothes basically had no allowance, making the person look big-headed and small-bodied, with completely uncoordinated proportions. The sleeve shape was in an "eight-character" shape, and the clothes looked very cramped when worn. In contrast, in When the Wild Goose Returns, the allowance of similar long gown-style patterns seems more generous, and the overall clothes look more dignified.
In traditional Chinese clothing, even the sleeve length of daily long-sleeved clothes basically covers the cuffs. Exposing the hands directly not only raises the issue of elegance but also affects the standing posture and demeanor without appropriate etiquette. This kind of eight-character sleeve shape formed due to small allowance often appears in kimonos because of resource limitations and level specifications at that time.
In terms of fabric texture, Chinese people prefer to choose calm colors when dressing. Generally, plain, solid dark and light colors are the safest. The fabric style of traditional clothing is also steady and unassuming, often using craft elements such as hidden patterns, jacquards, and gold and silver weaving. From a distance, it looks dignified and elegant, but upon closer inspection, there are full of details, which also fits the introverted temperament of the Chinese people. Obviously, the fabric of the women's clothing in this drama is made of a material similar to gauze, looking flimsy and without texture.
Besides the clothes, Ren Min's headdress also gives a low-quality, stagey feel. Up close, they are velvet flowers, but the scattered color combination without obvious primary and secondary colors makes the same color scheme seem discordant at first sight, giving a feeling of good materials not being well used. For example, the "a garden on the head" styling of Miaomiao in Eternal Night Galaxy, although there are many velvet flowers piled up, there are contrasts and primary and secondary colors in terms of color, making it look orderly. If you don't want to go for the complicated route, like Chen Duling's styling in When the Wild Goose Returns, a few velvet flowers were used for decoration in the early stage, and later replaced with gold ornaments as the character grew up, which also has a simple but dignified feeling.
Netizens pointed out that Ci Sha's styling mainly has a problem with the hairstyle. Ci Sha's real hair styling was previously praised by netizens. Compared with the same old wigs of male actors in other costume dramas, it looks more real and more natural at the temples. However, in this drama, a stylized wig was forced on Ci Sha, which not only failed to add points but also covered up his original styling advantages. After all, real hair styling of male actors in costume dramas is really rare. Moreover, the clothing fabric has a reflective feeling like old-fashioned satin.
Currently, there are still problems such as small allowance in costumes, semi-permanent wigs, and chaotic matching in costume dramas. Although it may not be a drama aiming for full restoration, these are at least considered "common sense" in traditional aesthetics. The acting skills of the actors are one aspect, and the costumes, props, and makeup are another. It's understandable that netizens made such complaints. The audience has discerning eyes, and the production crew should listen to their opinions and strive to improve the costumes to better present the charm of traditional culture.