| When Hong Kong
was first opened up as a port, Eastern culture and
Western culture remained separate even though both
Chinese and foreigners were living together. They each
had their own customs and ways of life. At that
time, Hong Kong Chinese mainly followed the traditions
of the Cantonese.
At
that time, Hong Kong people were mostly workers, farmers
and boat dwellers. Their clothes,
simple and coarse, were all loose fitting garments
with wide sleeves. The front
of the upper garments was open on one side which were
called "large front clothes". Since Hong
Kong was a fishing port occupied mainly by boat dwellers
and local inhabitants of the New Territories, the
clothes that women wore were called "Hakka suits"
whereas those worn by men were usually without collars
and made of coarse black cotton or "black satin" for
a better quality.
At that time, the clothes were tailored for
practical purposes only and showed no particular style.
To men from the upper class, they liked wearing
robes and long gowns while loose fitting cheungsams
were the favourites of ladies. |
Casual wear of the early male residents in
Hong Kong
Hakka style clothing of the early residents
in Hong Kong |
