To Be A Virtuous Wife

There’s many kinds of clothing and ornaments and someone told me that pictures would really help since many people don’t know what they look like.

Not all the chapters will have supplements. I might combine groups of chapters and then post pictures. See pretty pictures under the cut

夹袄: jia’ao, lined jacket. The decoration would depend on the social cla.s.s and wealth. The ones shown are b.u.t.ton straight up the front. Others have a curved line of b.u.t.tons from the next to under the arm.

鸡血玉镯: phoenix/chicken blood bangle. It can be purely red or partially red. The most famous in C-novels may be the bangle in Bu Bu Jing Xing (screenshot below).

罗裙: silk dress. Many different styles. The ones most frequently mentioned are the wide-sleeved luoqun.

花开并蒂: two flowers blooming on a single stalk. Lotus flowers are the kind usually described this way.

络子 (laozi) : ornament of various shapes made by knotting or other techniques. Weaving with beads in the second image.

飞仙髻 (feixianji): literally flying G.o.ddess topknot

(鸾鸟祥云)步摇: a buyao(步摇 ) can range from the very simple hair pin to large complicated headpieces. The literal translation is step shake, referring to how the dangling parts of the buyao sways with the wearer’s steps. The first picture is what the luan buyao could have looked like. The second is of a buyao that would have been attached at the back or top of the head, not inserted from the side into the hair.

The steps of makeup for a Tang married woman (If you want to see a prettier version, search up Fan Bing Bing as Wu Ze Tian)

1. Powder
2. Rouge
3. Draw eyebrows (eyebrow shape varied over time)
4. Paste on flower between eyebrows
5. Paste on dimples
6. Draw (half moons/cresents onto) temples
7. Lipstick (the smaller the mouth, the more attractive it was considered)