east meets west pt. II

qipao: c/o The Business Confucius Institute at The University of Leeds, bag: Sara Sboul, shoes: Shellys London

As part of my East Meets West series, I was challenged by the Business Confucius Institute at The University of Leeds to style a qipao, a traditional Chinese dress... 

When I first saw this qipao, I immediately thought of 90s grunge babes and decided to take inspiration from them, and so I plumped for chunky shoes and tights for a dressed-down approach. To really show off the intricate neck and button detail, I tied my hair up and kept it quite polished as both a contrast to the shoes and also as a homage to the beauty and glamour of traditional qipaos.

An Emma outfit wouldn't be an Emma outfit without some sort of novelty item thrown in, so I went with my trusty Sara Sboul. As red is a lucky colour in China, it matched the theme perfectly whilst bringing out the incredible colours of the dress.

I'm now completely obsessed with qipaos. Even though I added a grungy vibe to the dress, I still felt pretty glam! I'd definitely love to try one of the longer versions for a night out.

If you're interested in Chinese fashion, BCIUL are hosting a East Meets West fashion event at Light Night Leeds on Friday 9th October. QingYi Apparel and Jenny Schwarz will be exhibiting there, and I can't wait to see what both designers have created! You can find out more information here.

How would you style a qipao?