Friday, January 15, 2016

The Happy Cheongsam Mother-Daughter Cheongsams

You know Chinese New Year {CNY} is almost here when you start seeing "red" everywhere you go {in a good way!}, hear all the dong-dong-chiang music... and oh yes, when cheongsams start popping up in stores! (´∇ノ`*)ノ

For me, cheongsams are part of my wardrobe staple for all seasons and definitely are not just for CNY. There are so many modern, versatile designs available nowadays so they make really unique yet comfortable everyday wear. Especially for the pieces that are light and don't need much ironing, I bring them with me overseas too!

Done right, casual chic is achieved with a modern cheongsam and pair of flats / sneakers, or simply don a cheongsam top with jeans. They can be worn for more dressy events with a pretty necklace, brooch or heels too. Nowadays cheongsams are not just body-hugging pieces suitable for curvy women. Modern cheongsams come in a variety of silhouettes to suit all kinds of body shapes!

Ladies with fuller hips can try flared A-line skirts while those with hour-glass figures will look great in straight-cut / pencil-skirt cheongsams and apple-shaped ladies can go for drop waist or shift cut cheongsams.

Anyway CNY is really a fantastic season to shop around and buy cheongsams as most brands would release a bumper crop of their top designs for the year now. However, even if you miss buying cheongsams during CNY, there are some shops that sell traditional and modern cheongsams all year round to suit every budget {updated this list yesterday}.

I've written in detail on a few shops {Lark & Peony, Joli Pretty, Our Bitsy Prints} and I'd like to introduce another one - The Happy Cheongsam. Best part is, they make matchy-matchy mother-daughter cheongsams!! 

Inspired by a vision to share happiness with people via their modern and painstakingly hand-made cheongsams, The Happy Cheongsam is a mummy-daughter team that was founded 2 years ago by Ming and her own mother, Mdm Heng.

Both of them have a hand in designing and selecting the fabrics used, and Mdm Heng would come up with the design template for each cheongsam to be hand-sewn by their tailors. Mdm Heng herself has over 50 years of experience in tailoring and scrutinises each finished product thoroughly to make sure that they pass their quality check before it's released in their shop.

If it's not well-made, it's not sold. Simple as that. 

Also, for each design, not more than 30 are produced so you can be sure that you're owning a very exclusive piece and the likelihood of you bumping into someone else wearing that same dress as is pretty low (●´∀`●)

I admire their attention to detail and exclusivity of their cheongsams. Looking through their collections, I also like their bold use of colours, prints and non-traditional cuts. Their variety of modern cheongsams consist of daring silhouettes and you can see that they really try to think out-of-the-box to come out with creative designs {e.g. this plaid cheongsam romper} that are unique to their shop, and not just rely on the standard sleeveless-pleated-skirt kind {which is a good starter design, but gets boring after a while}.

We got this set of Gold Citrus modern cheongsams from them and I just love the bright, cheerful colour! When we wear it, it's like we're walking on sunshine hahaha..

And isn't that important?? No matter how gorgeous the clothes may be, if you don't feel happy wearing them, they will never look good on you #word It's no secret that matchy-matchy clothes are my our fave kind of outfits, but most of all, we loooooove clothes like these that inspire us to live, laugh, move, play and dance to the beats of our hearts!!

The Golden Citrus with lemon prints is a drop-waist dress with a front-opening, which makes it convenient for mothers who are still breast-feeding to wear I reckon. Other than the lovely fabric butterfly buttons, there are many hidden fasteners as regular intervals, so I didn't have to worry about the gaps being too big when I move about & overexposing myself #worstnightmare

The drop-waist style is also very flattering as it seems to elongate the body, and since it skims over the tummy, it makes it really comfortable to wear {especially after you're done with the festive eating haha}.

The only small gripe I've about the dress is that it creases easily and I need to really iron it properly after wash.. and I hate ironing haha.

Oh by the way, I usually wear size M for cheongsams from local online shops {they are a little loose now due to my recent fitness training}, but the cutting for this dress is larger so I'm wearing a S that's been slightly altered. I'm kinda in-between sizes now.

Like my adult modern cheongsam, Lil Pumpkin's version is made from light linen for the top and premium cotton for the bottom. However, there are some slight differences so that the mummy-daughter dresses are same same, yet different and special.

For the girls cheongsam, her buttons are round fabric buttons and there's a sash to tie at the back for a sweet bow detail. There is also a back zip for easy-wearing.

Do note that their cheongsams sell out really fast after each collection launch and this set is not available anymore. They just launched part of their CNY 2016 collection on Monday and have other mother-daughter designs available.

The Happy Cheongsam mother-daughter sets start from S$229. You can purchase the adult cheongsams separately {starts from S$169} and girl cheongsams are available for limited sale via email request {starts from S$69}. Adult cheongsams are available in sizes S - XL while girl cheongsams are for those aged 1-6 years old.

Just to let you in on a little unknown fact - if you see something out of stock but you really, reaaaaaaally like, feel free to email Ming to ask for a preorder. If they still have the materials, they may be able to tailor it for you based on the available sizes. It will take around 8-9 weeks for completion. 

The Happy Cheongsam is definitely a shop you should follow if you like fresh, everyday cheongsams with well-made tailoring of materials sourced from Japan, Europe, Australia and the Americas . They sell mainly online, but you can make an appointment to try on their cheongsams at their workshop during weekends. For CNY 2016, they also have pop-up stores at Robinson in JEM & Raffles City.

Unfortunately, they currently do not offer customisations but have free shipping to all Singapore addresses and offer overseas shipping as well. Have a look at The Happy Cheongsam's online boutique for more information and at their collections.

Part 2 of their CNY 2016 collection will be launching on Mon 18 Jan 2016 and you can have a sneek peek on it via their Facebook page too.

Happy cheongsam shopping!! Who knows, you may grow to love cheongsams as much as me after seeing what they have in store haha.

*****
In case you missed it, I've been selected to be one of the top 4 finalists in Her World Plus Social Media Awards. Always honoured to receive recognition for sharing my motherhood and life stories ♥

Voting ends today {Fri 15 Jan 2016} so you can and don't mind, please support me by voting here. You only need to vote once! Thanks in advance xox

* Disclosure: This is a review for The Happy Cheongsam. All opinions are my own.


17 comments:

Mrs. L said...

Two lovely ladies! Those are really nice cheongsams, very cute design!

besos,
M
The Flower Duet

Debbish said...

I love the colour on both of you! You look great!

And the dresses look really cool and comfy.

Deb

Unknown said...

Wow such a cheery lemon dress! You two look great. Can definitely wear this after CNY too. Their collection is really unique; I'm going to check it out. :)

~Summer~ said...

So pretty! Both of you look great in the cheongsam, i love that the design is so striking and vibrant! :) lil pumpkin looks like a young lady already, absolutely gorgeous! :)

An Apel a Day said...

I think yellow is your color!

It's not a color I wear often because it washes me out. I have very white Scandinavian skin. It's odd though, my younger sister looks like me, and yellow works on her.

I love the matchy clothing! Little Pumpkin always looks happy to dress like you. Isaak likes to dress like Mica at times. I have clothes that are not exactly the same for them, but are close.

Theresa Mahoney said...

Such a happy color on the cheongsams, for two happy girls! You both look great!

Anonymous said...

Yellow is really flattering with both of your skin tones! So cheery and full of energy! That plaid romper looks really nice too.. Love the fusion look! :D

Stacy said...

You two look great, as usual. :)

Unknown said...

Nice mommy and girl cheong sam!

Dawn said...

The 2 of you look so gorgeous in the cheongsams! Too bad no cheongsam twinning for me and Laurent haha

mail4rosey said...

They are very pretty. I love that there are only 30 made. You ladies look very lovely in your matching dresses. :)

Michelle said...

Both you and lil pumpkin look gorgeous in the matching cheongsam. Love the bright yellow for CNY!

Danessa Foo said...

I love to see posts of you and Lil Pumpkin twinning... I don't have much twinning clothes, none of which are cheongsams, with my little girl. I tried twinning before and got commented by a relative. Ever since then, I stopped :(

Unknown said...

YES!!!! More cheongsam shops with matchymatchy clothes! Do they do a boys collection too?

Pooja Kawatra said...

Such a bright lemony dress full of brightness for both of you and sees just perfect for mom daughter duo.

Susan said...

So so cute! Love their fabric and how they take on a modern twists to their cheongsams. But Sophie isn't keen on CS, so no chance for us to go matchy matchy in cheongsam this year.

Indah Nuria Savitri said...

lovely cheongsam indeed, Ai. It fits you two prettily :)