The clothing of men in the Qing Dynasty was mainly long robes and horse coats, a trend that became most popular during the later years of Emperor Kangxi and the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. Women's clothing in the Qing Dynasty featured a coexistence of Manchu and Han Chinese styles. Manchu women mainly wore long robes, while Han Chinese women favored the traditional upper garment and lower skirt. Starting from the middle of the Qing Dynasty, both Manchu and Han people began to imitate each other's clothing styles. By the late Qing Dynasty, the trend of Manchu women imitating Han Chinese clothing became very popular, even recorded in historical texts as "half of the banner-style clothes were changed into Han-style, and palace robes were cut into short jackets." At the same time, the trend of Han Chinese women imitating Manchu clothing also became popular among high-ranking officials' wives and noblewomen. The styles and varieties of women's clothing in the Qing Dynasty became increasingly diverse, such as vests, round wraps, skirts, coats, cloud shoulders, scarves, hand warmers, undergarments, sashes, eyeglasses, and so on, with new styles constantly emerging.

After 1840, entering the modern era, Western culture gradually influenced China's local culture. Many coastal metropolises, especially Shanghai, a major city, due to the cohabitation of Chinese and foreigners, were the first to adopt Western trends, and clothing began to undergo potential changes.

The cheongsam, which was popular in the 1920s of this century, originated from the clothing of Manchu women in the Qing Dynasty. It was continuously improved by Han Chinese women who absorbed Western fashion styles while wearing it. At that time, there was no professional clothing research center, and changes in clothing styles were widespread, constantly changing under the influence of the fashion of the times.

From the 1920s to the end of the 1940s, the cheongsam was popular for more than 20 years, with its design constantly evolving, such as the height of the collar, the length of the sleeves, and the height of the slit, which completely freed the cheongsam from the old style, changed the long-standing custom of Chinese women binding their chests and arms, and allowed women's body shapes and curves to be fully displayed, which perfectly matched the fashion of the time and contributed to the liberation of women. Blue cloth cheongsams were particularly popular among female students at that time, spreading rapidly and being imitated nationwide, becoming almost the typical outfit of Chinese new women in the late 1920s. It is worth mentioning that, at that time, the modern women, socialites, and film stars in the famous concession area of Shanghai, who led the fashion trends, made unique innovations in cheongsam styles, which also promoted its development. For example, Tang Ying, a socialite, founded the Yunchang Fashion Company in Shanghai. From the 1930s onwards, the cheongsam almost became the standard attire for Chinese women. Women in the countryside, students, workers, and the wives of high-ranking officials all wore cheongsams. The cheongsam even became a formal dress for social and diplomatic occasions. Later, the cheongsam spread abroad and was imitated by women in other countries.