Photo of Lady in Long Sleeveless Cheongsam with Large Printed Check Patterns

This picture was taken in Shanghai in the 1930s or 1940s. The cheongsam in this photo is in the cloth with printed large check patterns, a trendy fabric in the 1930s and 1940s. In order to maintain the continuity of the check patterns while trimming out a fitted silhouette, the tailor adopted a technique named “helpful pulling” by ironing instead of the traditional dart-adding.