Recently, I was invited to The Charm of the East 東方之韻 – Selected Suzhou Embroidery Artworks Exhibition 中國蘇繡藝術精品展 which was held at China Cultural Centre in Sydney. This art show features 36 stunning pieces of China’s renowned Su embroidery artworks. Suzhou is on the Southeastern edge of Jiangsu; whereas my beloved late grandmother’s hometown Nantong, is also in Jiangsu province. Therefore, I have sentimental feelings about everything from this region. To say that I was excited when receiving this invitation for the opening night was an understatement, I was ecstatic!

So, what to wear? Ideally, I would love to wear my Chinese outfit for the occasion, but all my contemporary chipao (qipao) were way too summery! So I went for a Western look instead, a fur cape to channel a bygone era’s charm. I spotted a few guests in traditional Hanfu, some in modern cheongsam. There were two ladies’ attires I was most impressed with at the event, one of them was Raphi Wei, the founder of Yue Yuan Gallery & Decor (see above image).

Raphi was wearing a sage green chipao, no print, but knitted textures instead. The frogs* of her chipao had pearl-like decoration. Although sage green is not for everybody, I thought it suits Raphi’s fair complexion very well. And most importantly, she wore it elegantly.

Another lady’s outfit I adored, was the host of the event, Ms Sherry Xiu’s contemporary chipao (see image above). Sherry’s cheongsam has an interesting print, it reminds me of the tree ring. Since it’s black and white, it also looks like a print of marble. I like the way Sherry wore her high-slit cheongsam over a pair of black trousers; this style does give the traditional look a funky twist! And of course, Sherry wore her ensemble with so much confidence, and I think that’s the most important element of great styling.

For those who would like to find out more about this art event, simply head to White Caviar Life’s launch post and read my coverage. Special thanks to Kent who captured these cheerful moments we shared at the China Cultural Centre in Sydney.

*A frog (sometimes referred to as a Chinese frog) is an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that consists of a button and a loop through which it passes.