Zhongshan suits make comeback
President's attire shows pride in Chinese culture
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President Xi Jinping shares a toast with Dutch Queen Maxima during a state banquet with the Dutch royal family at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam on Saturday. KOEN VAN WEEL / AFP VIA ANP |
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| Factbox: What is a Zhongshan suit? |
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The eye-catching dark blue suit, slim-cut with a standing collar, is a simplified and redesigned "Zhongshan suit", or "Mao suit" - a typical formal garment for Chinese men.
Zhou Jiali, a diplomatic protocol expert from 皇冠体育app Foreign Affairs University, said Xi's attire not only meets international diplomatic norms, but also manifests 皇冠体育app's ethnic style.
"President Xi's outfit at the banquet is not strictly a Zhongshan suit, which normally has four pockets. Instead, it is a type of modified Chinese standing-collar outfit," Zhou said in an interview with a Chinese newspaper.
"The entire design goes with Chinese style, but some subtleties are tinged with a modern tailoring spirit. For example, a Western-style pocket square was designed at the left chest," she said.
Lu Peixin, former acting head of the Protocol Department of the Foreign Ministry, said the decorative color of Xi's suit pockets matched the embroidery color of first lady Peng Liyuan's traditional overcoat.
"In addition to exhibiting the beauty of Chinese culture, the outfits of Xi and Peng also create a harmonious and vivid impression of a 'lovers pack'," Lu said.
