清末格格: Princesses of Late Qing China

In these old photos of Qing princesses and Imperial Court ladies, we can see the origin of qípáo 旗袍 (Wade-Giles ch'i-p'ao, also known as cheongsam):

When the Manchu ruled China during the Qing Dynasty, certain social strata emerged. Among them were the Banners (qí), mostly Manchu, who as a group were called Banner People (旗人 pinyin: qí rén). Manchu women typically wore a one-piece dress that came to be known as the qípáo (旗袍 or banner quilt). The qipao fitted loosely and hung straight down the body. Under the dynastic laws after 1636, all Han Chinese in the banner system were forced to wear a queue and dress in Manchurian qipao instead of traditional Han Chinese clothing (剃髮易服), under penalty of death. However after 1644, the Manchu relinquished this edict, allowing the main populace to continue to wear Hanfu, but gradually even they began to wear the qipao and changshan (長衫). In fact, only court officials were forbidden from wearing Ming court dress. In the following 300 years, the qipao became the adopted clothing of the Chinese, and was eventually tailored to suit the preferences of the population. Such was its popularity that the garment form survived the political turmoil of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty.

朗貝勒府五格格愛新覺羅·恆馥

毓朗大格格愛新覺羅·恆慧，定郡王溥煦的大孫女。

末代皇后婉容的養母愛新覺羅·恆香（毓朗貝勒的二格格）。

愛新覺羅·恆香

The original qipao was wide and loose. It covered most of the woman's body, revealing only the head, hands, and the tips of the toes. The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age. With time, though, the qipao was tailored to become more form fitting and revealing. The modern version, which is now recognised popularly in China as the "standard" qipao, was first developed in Shanghai after 1900, after the Qing Dynasty fell. People eagerly sought a more modernised style of dress and transformed the old qipao to suit their tastes. Slender and form fitting with a high cut, it contrasted sharply with the traditional qipao. However, it was high-class courtesans and socialites in the city that would make these redesigned tight fitting qipao popular at that time. In Shanghai it was first known as zansae or "long dress" (長衫 = Mandarin: chángshān, Shanghainese: zansae, Cantonese: chèuhngsàam), and it is this name that survives in English as the "cheongsam."

毓朗的女兒愛新覺羅·恆馨，她的女兒婉容為清朝的末代皇后。

愛新覺羅·恆馨，人稱四格格。

載灃長女大格格愛新覺羅·韞媖旗裝照，曾嫁給婉容的哥哥潤良為妻。

Ladies of Chinese Imperial Court in Qing Dynasty

The modernised version is noted for accentuating the figures of women, and as such was popular as a dress for high society. As Western fashion changed, the basic cheongsam design changed too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves, and the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsam came in a wide variety of fabrics with an equal variety of accessories.

The 1949 Communist Revolution ended the cheongsam and other fashion in Shanghai, but the Shanghainese emigrants and refugees brought the fashion to Hong Kong where it has remained popular. Recently there has been a revival of the Shanghainese cheongsam in Shanghai and elsewhere in Mainland China; the Shanghainese style functions now mostly as a stylish party dress.

Text reference: Wikipedia - Cheongsam
Image source: 環球網 歷史影像室

肅親王的十七格格愛新覺羅·顯琦（又名金默玉），川島芳子的妹妹。

In Trashy Diva Watercolour Garden qipao inspired by a Mid-Century design, at the Chelsea Flower Show, London, summer 2007.