Han Fu or Hanfu... it's all the same thing - Beautiful - OR Count D does NOT wear a dress

[yellowhorde]

yentai posted a series of pictures of Chinese dresses the other day. She needed help on what dress she should choose. (Good luck with that, btw, I think they were all gorgeous!)

Well, I visited some of the sites she had listed and was blown away by the selection. One particular style of clothing that caught my eye was the traditional Chinese Hanfu (or Han Fu, I've googled it and seen it written both ways). Stunning, just... wow.





And then it occurred to me that this may solve (for me, at any rate) the dilemma of whether Count D from Petshop of Horrors wears a dress or not. (I don't think he does, personally.)

I've read that he wears a kimono,



a yukata,



a cheongsam (or qi pao).


Personally, I've been referring to his clothes as chi-fu or chao-fu.



From now on, whenever I describe one of Count D's outfits, I will be referring to the chi-fu, chao-fu (or chiao as I've seen it spelled both ways), or the han fu. To me, those are the most accurate, both historically and culturally, descriptions I can find.

But I will never, NEVER say he's wearing either a cheongsam or a dress. Just... no.