In the ancient cdrama The Legend of Zang Hai (藏海传), although Chen Yanxi only appeared in a few scenes, she left a deep impression. She played the mother of Zang Hai (played by Xiao Zhan), wearing a Ming-style cape, showing a different kind of mature charm from before.
Let's first talk about the outfit on the left side of the main picture. Chen Yanxi wore a front-buttoned narrow-sleeved cape, with a round-collared shirt and a cross-collared middle garment inside, and a horse-faced skirt below. The whole set was in the Ming style. The overall color of this outfit was a combination of light blue and light colors, so it looked gentle and elegant. Her hair was simply styled in double buns or a single bun, making her look fresh, elegant, and refined.
The cape is a relatively formal style in Ming Dynasty clothing. Its style features a straight collar and slits on both sides. It evolved from the Bei Zi in the Song Dynasty. In some Ming Dynasty books, the terms 'Bei Zi' and 'cape' were often used interchangeably. The main difference between them is that in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the collar of the cape was mostly in the half-length style as shown in the picture above, while the collar of the Bei Zi from the Song Dynasty to the middle Ming Dynasty usually ran through to the hem, which can be visually distinguished. The two coexisted in the early and middle Ming Dynasty and gradually became less common later.
In the Sancai Tuhui compiled by Wang Qi and Wang Siyi during the Wanli period, the style of the cape was first clearly defined: "The Bei Zi is now the cape. According to the official records, Emperor Qin Ershi ordered to add Bei Zi to the court clothes. Its sleeves are shorter than the shirt, and the body is as long as the shirt but with wider sleeves. In the Song Dynasty, it was as long as the skirt, and the sleeves were only wider than the shirt."
The thinker Zhu Zhiyu in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties described this very popular clothing in detail in his Zhu's Shuiyin Tanqi: "The fabric and color of the cape are the same as those of the Taoist robe, but the cape has a front-buttoned collar without edging... There are buttons on the chest, which can be in the shape of jade or small belts."
The cape can be worn by both men and women. Men usually wear a Zhiduo or a Taoist robe inside the cape, while women have more options. In most of the Ming Dynasty, they would match it with a cross-collared or round-collared robe. In the late Ming Dynasty, they would match it with a standing-collar style as shown in the picture on the right. It shows a kind of 'formal' posture.
In the TV series When Yan Hui Returns, Zhuang Hanyan played by Chen Duling paired a standing-collar long jacket with a cape. She often wore the cape after her coming-of-age ceremony, and the color and matching of the cape became more grand after marriage. It can be seen that the clothing is used to interpret the different life stages of female characters from different perspectives.
Another outfit of Chen Yanxi is paired with a traditional cross-collared style (as shown in the picture on the right). Inside the cape, you can wear a shirt and skirt or a jacket and skirt. If you are working, you can also match it with a sleeveless Bijia (as shown in the picture on the left). This kind of matching is more classic. However, in this drama, the sleeve length is too short, so the hands are always exposed outside the sleeves, which doesn't look very elegant. In fact, according to the normal sizing of Hanfu, even the daily clothes of common people are usually about 10 centimeters longer than the fingertips, and the sizing of formal dresses can be even longer, reaching more than half of the arm length, which is also called 'going back to the elbow and passing the wrist'. This is also a common tailoring problem in most ancient costume dramas.
Chen Yanxi's ancient costume looks have been scrutinized by the audience. Previously, in a variety show, when she wore a Tang-style shirt and skirt, she simply let her hair down, which gave a more modern and casual feeling. In a CCTV evening party, Chen Yanxi's Song-style makeup was quite heavy. Many people didn't recognize her at first until the introduction subtitle appeared. They exclaimed, "Let Chen Yanxi show her natural beauty with light makeup." In her earlier works, her classic image as Little Dragon Girl in the 'Little Steamed Bun' version had been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Chen Yanxi's beauty has gradually shown its true and peaceful nature over time. From playing a young girl to portraying a mother, she has also experienced the transformation from a happy marriage to a calm divorce. The energy brought by clothing culture is the same. Through different clothing styles, it also interprets different stages of a person's life. I hope she can truly be herself in her new looks. That kind of gentle, quiet, and natural beauty without excessive modification belongs to her.
