21st-century cheongsam: Hong Kong-born style guru gives iconic dress a modern twist, takes timeless Chinese elegance global
- Netflix show presented by Sara Jane Ho gives people style makeover infused with Chinese panache
- Etiquette expert offers tips on everything from improving your posture to holding a teacup properly
Hong Kong-born Sara Jane Ho stars in the new Netflix show, Mind Your Manners, which sees the super-polished Harvard graduate transform people with an etiquette makeover.
In one episode, Ho helps a woman, “Bunny”, reconnect with her Chinese roots by dressing her in a cheongsam, or qipao, the traditional style of dress introduced by the ruling Manchus during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912).
“I put Bunny in a cheongsam so I could take her back to her Chinese heritage, and all those complicated emotions ranging from nostalgia and comfort to fear and anxiety, which she had suppressed for so long,” Ho told the Post.
Wardrobe advice is not all Ho shares. She gives tips on how to hold a teacup, improve posture and skin - even dating advice.
Etiquette is a business she knows well. In 2013, Ho opened Institute Sarita in Beijing, China’s first finishing school for ladies. Two years later another opened in Shanghai.
But it is Ho’s on-screen looks which steal the show, including her modern take on the figure-hugging dress that has her looking cool as a cucumber even while expertly slicing a banana.