The problem with those baroque gowns of this extreme sort is that they are probably the most uncomfortable clothing ever invented by Europeans. Women are a few times broader so its very hard to "navigate", furthermore I am not sure you could even sit down with those gowns at all. And last but not least, I am not sure you can dance most dances with those gowns.
You know every gown you can not dance a waltz with is useless at least for Austria


The white hair was used as some kind of symbol for wisdom and dignity I guess. Only noble people or people or citizens of high rank or who visited the court of a nobelity wore them, as far as I know.
My own guess is, that the white hair represents age, and full and long hair stands for vitality. Age stands for wisdom, its an analogy used in many cultures. So if you want you can say that the noble people tried to make themselves look older and wiser than they were (of course it was not a personal decision but simply etiquette to do so)


Your pictures like so colorful and really impressive. I guess the European "counterpart" to the Hanfu would be this:



Thats what the Romans wore. Tunic (its like an overlong t-shirt), and toga (the long one piece kind of thing above the and around the tunic). This tradition got completely lost during the dark age.



Here you have btw a local Tracht from nearby where live:


PS:
Why are suits unpracticable for Asian or Chinese people? Do you think for cultural reasons, or for practical reasons?

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Regarding baroque gowns. I found on the net various sites, it seems you still can get one if you really like. But I guess it will be similar expensive as back than in the baroque age, ie no normal and sane normal human would afford such a gown. Already common ball gowns are expensive enough.

You should not forget this is aristocratic clothing. The traditional mass clothing is the tracht.

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thanks for you beautiful pictures.Slartibartfas
I have some questions about Europe custom: in one of your picture,one man kiss one woman's the back of hand.I heard that is gentlmen & knight 's behavior.is it right?

Yeah, I always kind of worried about "Han chauvinism" as Mao termed it. Well, I guess we'll just have to see if China basically just means "Han" in the future, and ignores the rest of her minorities.

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@ Luke How do Western suits not "suit" Chinese people? How are Western suits "not designed" for them? Do Chinese people have different bodies than white people?

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Yes, thats a very noble manner. At very noble occasions its still a common practice to kiss the hand of a woman.

You can find that probably all over Europe, but it will vary how often and when exactly it is really done. There is a large variety within Europe regarding greeting tradition and manners. From a real gentleman you can however expect that he will kiss the hand of woman.

Where I am from the standard form of greeting is to give someone your right hand, ie to shake hands. If you shake hand with men, you can take the counterparts hand with more strength. Many men have a rather strong handshake, and I have to say that I do not like it so much either, when the handshake between men is too loose.

ehm anyway, if you want to greet a woman you know very very well, or you are relative very nicely than you kiss her or fake a kiss on both cheeks. Thats what is done always at congratulations, but can also be done when you simply are very good friends.

Kissing the hand of a woman, is very more formal. I personally could imagine doing so in the theater/opera or at official ceremonies when meeting a woman I am introduced to or that I know. Especially if the woman has a higher status than me, this might be an appropriate action.

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Eastern Asians generally have thinner bone structures. The western suits only look good if the person wearing it is very tall and broad. Also because caucasians have colorful facial features like yellow hair, blue or green eyes and pale face, they are adaptable to the simple-colored suits. Well, it is just my theory anyway...

most Han Chinese are nice.not everyone is hanist.we will not ignore minorities people.because we are equal.China is our home

hehe,I remember a famous movie "Titanic",Jack kiss Rose's hand in the movie too.so romantic.
in China,if one man kiss an unknown woman.the woman would give him a slam on his face and call him "rascal",or call police to take the man to police station.haha,China is a conservative country

Thats new to me. In fact suits are specially designed to make also people with not so broad shoulders to look broader. Of course adopted to the real measurements. Not in an extremely exaggerating way.

Regarding your second argument, I am sorry I fear I cant follow you with it. In how far are Chinese more grey faced than Europeans, especially northern Europeans? If you are talking about the hair color, I have to point out that you do not have to wear a black suit.

It seems furthermore that the Japanese had no problems with suits. Not that I ever heard of it.

Therefore I repeat my question from above, are you skeptical towards suits due to cultural reasons or due to practical reasons? It seems to me the former is the case.

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