Object Details
- Description
- The purple Chinese vest is part of the cheongsam worn by Cecilia Chiang at her famous restaurant, The Mandarin, at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. This style of the vest was created during 1920s Shanghai, where the garment was popularized by upper-class women and socialites. In the 1950s, women in the workforce began to wear it in Hong Kong. Now, it is often considered formal wear, for weddings, banquets and special occasions.
- Cecilia Chiang and her purple cheongsam appeared on a 1976 postcard of her restaurant, The Mandarin. Chiang has been deemed the most influential person in the world of Chinese cuisine in the second half of the 20th century. She first opened her own restaurant on Polk Street, San Francisco, where she admittedly said struggled in the beginning. Although most people were only familiar with the Cantonese and American style of Chinese food, with dishes such as chop suey and egg foo young as the primary staples, Chiang introduced dumplings and Peking duck – food from northern China. Her restaurant became so popular that she purchased a larger space (seating 300 people) in Ghirardelli Square. She asked the designer of Trader Vic to design her new restaurant and specifically did not want typical Chinese restaurant features of gold, red, and dragons. Much like her restaurant, Chiang’s style is trendy, elegant, and carefully detailed. Chang even taught legendary cooks such as Julia Child and Alice Waters. Chiang's northern Chinese style cuisine ushered in a new era of Chinese food in the United States. This past year, Chang received the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious honor for American culinary chefs.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Cecilia Chiang
- ID Number
- 2011.0236.01
- catalog number
- 2011.0236.01
- accession number
- 2011.0236
- Object Name
- Chinese Clothing
- Chinese top
- chinese clothing
- Physical Description
- metal (button, snaps material)
- silk (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 22 1/2 in x 18 9/16 in; 57.15 cm x 47.14875 cm
- part:arm width: 13 3/4 in; 34.925 cm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Asian Pacific American Business
- Food
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1412694
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-5e5b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
