ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Sheila Chao and Lily Meng didn’t know each other when they moved into Reata Glen, a retirement and assisted living facility in Rancho Mission Viejo, but they bonded over fashion.
They’re donating a few of their own qipao dresses to the community’s first Asian Heritage display in honor of Lunar New Year. Qipao is a Mandarin word for the elegant, tailor-made dresses that many Chinese people consider the epitome of fashion.
“We’re so lucky she saved her dresses for years, going back to probably her teens,” said Chao.
Meng, a former fashion boutique owner, says she kept at least 40 dresses from her original collection.
The display includes dresses from South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and China.
Each garment has its own history. In China, people would save up their money to buy tailor-made outfits to ring in Lunar New Year. A red dress that Meng wore in her twenties to celebrate the New Year with her family is on display. It has a silk bamboo print which represents moral integrity and beauty.
“Red represents the rich, happiness, good luck,” said Meng.
While red is a favorite color for many Chinese people, her friend Chao says she had a closet full of red, so one year she invested in a turquoise colored qipao.
“This dress was made when I first went to Shanghai, visiting China. It’s tailor made. I wanted something different from red. The material is different too. It’s silk on top of silk. It changes the hue at different angles,” said Chao, a retired reference librarian from Cupertino.
They’re proud to share their culture with neighbors they’ve never met, like Linda Gossard. She’s lived and worked in Hong Kong for eight months.
“I was in my thirties at the time,” said Gossard, another resident at Reata Glen.
The exhibit reminds Gossard of the qipaos she used to own.
“I never had a custom made dress, so it was interesting to have it fitted exactly to me and it made me feel very special,” said Gossard.
They believe every culture shares a common thread and together they all contribute to one of the greatest stories, which is how America came to be.
Next month, the community is planning to share personal stories of some of their female residents who helped shaped the world in honor of Women’s History Month. For more information, visit here.