Military Dress

Because China has a large population, popular fashions can gather huge momentum. In the 1960s Chinese people (who, at that time, accounted for one-fourth of the world population) embraced military uniforms as civilian clothes.

Although the uniforms of the Chinese People's Liberation Army belong, strictly speaking, to the category of Western-style military uniforms, they tried to avoid the influence of European and American military uniforms in terms of their specific shapes and structure. In the 1950s, army officers wore peaked caps, soldiers wore boat-shaped caps, and elements such as the shapes of collars and the use of Sam-Browne-type belts, were more characteristic of Soviet military uniforms. Navy uniforms were standard international uniforms. Officers wore peaked caps and purplish-blue military uniforms in winter, and white caps, white upper garments, and blue trousers in summer; soldiers wore brimless peaked caps with two black satin bands to the rear, white upper garments with blue open collars, and blue trousers matched with brown leather belts. The navy uniform was imitated in the production of children's clothes, and the peaked cap was replaced by a soft-top brimless hat bearing the words "Chinese People's Small Navy."

In 1965, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress decided to abolish the military rank system. After 1965 both officers and soldiers wore a "liberation hat" with a round top, brim and metallic red pentacle at the front. The upper garment of the uniform had a collar and five buttons. Two triangular red collar badges, like flags, were sewn on both ends of the collar with no military rank symbol or shoulder or arm badge. Officers' clothes and soldiers' clothes differed only in the material used and the number of pockets featured. Wool was used for officers at the platoon leader level and higher levels, with four pockets at the front; cotton cloth was used for officers at the deputy platoon leader level and lower levels, with only two upper pockets. Female soldiers had no skirt, dress or brimless hat and their military uniforms were very close to the men's uniforms in terms of style. The army uniform was completely olive green, the air force uniform was green and blue, and the navy uniform was completely grey. The three armed services' upper garments with uniform collars were generally called "service dress" (there was no ceremonial dress). The most typical color for uniforms was green.

During the Cultural Revolution, from 1966 to 1976, people adopted the dress of People's Liberation Army (PLA) commanders. At first, soldiers' children adapted and wore their fathers' military uniforms, and green military uniforms matched with brown leather belts were very fashionable. Later, Chinese colleges and high schools established "Red Guard" organizations, then primary schools set up "Young Red Soldiers" groups, and workers and farmers founded "Red Guard Teams." Suddenly, everyone was a soldier. Unable to find enough real military uniforms, "Red Guards" bought imitation military uniforms, called service dress. These make-shift uniforms did not have cap badges, collar badges or shoulder badges, and could only be identified by the words "Red Guard" written in yellow.

For the first two decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the winter uniform of the police consisted of peaked caps, blue jackets and blue trousers, and long over¬sleeves that reached the shoulders; their summer clothes were peaked caps, white upper jackets and blue trousers. During the Cultural Revolution policemen's uniforms also became more military -blue and white changed to green, the peaked cap was replaced by the cloth "liberation hat" with a round top, and black leather shoes were replaced by green rubber cloth shoes. A police emblem was fixed to the front of the hat.

"Going to the mountains and the countryside" was a mass movement involving 30 million urban youths - and it propelled the adoption of military dress to another level. In 1964 the first batch of educated youths went to Xinjiang to open up wasteland, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps was established. When they left by train they wore green clothes and military caps without any cap badge or collar badge.

Another important aspect of "turning the entire nation into soldiers" involved military drills. Mock marching and drills were quite common - workers, intellectuals and full-time students all took great pride in wearing military uniform. Those who did not wear green uniforms wore blue and grey uniforms, but they also wore a green military cap, a two-way ribbed marching backpack, a military bag with water bottle on one shoulder, and a pair of rubber shoes. This period when everyone wore military uniforms gradually ended after China opened up at the end of the 1970s.

In the 1970s and the mid-and late 1980s, another phase of wearing popular military cotton-padded coats in winter began - many men and women of all classes and occupations wore military cotton-padded overcoats in winter. By this time, military overcoats signified fashion, not revolution. To cater to younger, more fashion-conscious buyers, retailers made small and exquisite women's military overcoats with fitted waists. The new generation of young people who adopted military overcoats were viewed as "troublemakers" - the exact opposite of the original wearers of these items of clothing. Military overcoats were worn with wool hats and long scarves that reached to below the knees. As more and more military overcoats appeared on peddlers' carts and clothes racks, they were worn by more and more people. When leading cadres appeared on television, most of them wore green military overcoats with deep brown long plush collars. Suddenly, everyone from doctors to peddlers wore military overcoats - scholars wore them at seminars, and farmers wore them while tilling the land. The military overcoat became China's national costume, and many work units even provided military overcoats as gifts at festivals. The military overcoat became a symbol of youth, endeavor and vigor - and it remained fashionable for another ten years, until it gradually lost popularity in the early 1990s.