The Qifu is the traditional clothing of the Manchu people. In the first year of Shunzhi (AD 1644), after the Qing army entered the pass, they established their capital in Beijing and then unified the country. With the initial stabilization of the regime, they began to forcibly implement male hair shaving and braiding, with the saying "keep the head but not the hair, keep the hair but not the head." The Han people struggled against this policy, trying hard to preserve Han clothing, but were subjected to massacres and suppression by the Manchu rulers. In the Qing Dynasty, ceremonial robes such as court robes, dragon robes, topknots with plumes, court beads, and ordinary Korean brand women's shoes that are narrow and fitted became the main clothing for men at the time, while women's clothing could be described as coexisting between Han and Manchu styles. In the early Qing, Manchu women mainly wore long gowns, while Han women still considered upper garments and skirts fashionable; during the mid-Qing period, both Han and Manchu styles influenced each other; in the late Qing period, the long gowns worn by banner women had relatively loose and straight-lined silhouettes, reaching down to the ankles. The "yuanbao collar" was widely used, with high collars covering the cheeks and ears, and the gown body often embroidered with various colored patterns; the collar, sleeves, lapel, and hem all had multiple widths of piping. By the Xianfeng and Tongzhi periods, the decorative techniques of embroidery and piping reached their peak, with some garments entirely covered in lace, making it almost impossible to identify the original fabric.
At the time, these aspects indirectly reflected people's admiration and pursuit of their own clothing, truly reflecting the "fashion" of the people then. By the late Qing Dynasty, due to the influence of Western culture, the development trend of clothing increasingly favored a fit-and-flare, simple style, thus giving the Qing attire an opulent style. The decoration on the banner women's gowns became extremely intricate, reaching a perfect pinnacle. At this time, the Qing dynasty was struggling to save itself from decline, and the Self-Strengthening Movement proposed the strategy of "Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning as the application" to save the country, sending large numbers of students abroad to study. Among Chinese students, Western-style student uniforms and caps first appeared, and the influx of foreign clothing provided another aesthetic reference point, directly affecting changes in societal dress concepts. Subsequently, the robes evolved into new styles that combined Chinese and Western elements, marking the beginning of changes influenced by Western culture. By the late Qing Dynasty, the fashion among the Manchu people imitating Han women's wear brands grew increasingly popular, even to the extent of "most banner costumes being changed into Han costumes, palace robes cut into short clothing," while the trend of Han people imitating Manchu clothing also became popular among some high-ranking officials' wives at the time. Additionally, during the rule of minority ethnic regimes such as the Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Qing Dynasties, well-fitted robes once played a leading role in clothing, although they also experienced or exhibited trends towards looseness. However, since the Qing Dynasty lasted the longest, the robe can be regarded as typical attire. In summary, before modern times in the Qing Dynasty, these changes in clothing fully demonstrated the ongoing process of people in society at the time pursuing fashion.