Button Up in Style: Paula Printed Tee
一顆中式花鈕，是製作長衫的重要一環。
A Chinese floral button is an important element in the making of Cheongsam.
中式花鈕是手作工藝，在上一個世紀三四十年代都是初入行的旗袍師傅負責製作，正式的旗袍師傅卻不管這部份， 中式花鈕最早出現在漢朝，當時花鈕不單是用來固定衣服，還是一個身份的象徵，而花鈕鈕扣廣泛流行卻要到清朝。
The Chinese floral button is a handcrafted art form that was traditionally made by novice cheongsam tailors in the 1930s and 1940s. Established cheongsam tailors, however, did not handle this part. The floral button first appeared during the Han Dynasty, where it served not only to fasten clothing but also as a symbol of status. The widespread popularity of floral buttons did not occur until the Qing Dynasty.
製造中式花钮需要上漿、開條、燙條的製作工序，材料包括銅鐵線，綑布條及棉花。用綑布包着銅鐵線，再用鉗子扭出不同形狀的圖案，再加入棉花，增強形狀立體感，而現代中式花鈕已省卻了用銅鐵線。
Creating a Chinese floral button involves several processes, including starching, opening, and ironing the strips. Materials include copper wire, fabric strips, and cotton. The copper wire is wrapped in fabric strips, and then pliers are used to twist it into various shapes. Cotton is added to enhance the three-dimensional quality of the shape, and modern Chinese floral buttons have eliminated the use of copper wire.
傳統的中式花鈕圖案有梅菊，龍鳳呈祥，囍字 等等。
現今花鈕已廣泛使用，除了用作長衫旗袍鈕扣之外，還可以製作配飾，如頸鏈，耳環，手鏈及家具裝飾。由於花鈕全是人手製作，手工精細，上一代的師傅越來越少，近年花鈕已被列為時尚藝術品.
Traditional patterns for Chinese floral buttons include plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, dragons and phoenixes, and the character "Xi" (囍, meaning "double happiness"). Nowadays, floral buttons are widely used not only as fasteners for long gowns and cheongsams but also for making accessories such as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and furniture decorations. Since floral buttons are entirely handmade with meticulous craftsmanship, the number of artisans from the previous generation has dwindled. In recent years, floral buttons have been recognized as fashionable art pieces.
為了融入傳統元素，Yi-Ming 創作了一系列保拉印花 T 恤，設計中包含了不同的中國元素，並以中式花鈕進行點綴。但將中式花鈕融入休閒服裝的創意靈感來自何處呢？我們邀請了 Yi-Ming 的設計師兼創始人 Grace 來解答這個問題。
In order to style with heritages, Yi-Ming has created a collection of Paula Printed Tees with different chinese elements designs and embellished with chinese buttons. But where this creative idea of including chinese buttons to casual attire comes from? We have invited Grace, the designer and the founder of Yi-Ming, to answer that.
“並不是每個人都有機會穿上長衫，尤其是男性。然而，我們希望創造一些以中國文化為設計元素的產品，作為紀念品或禮物送給他人。通常，我們不會說把長衫作為禮物送給某人，因為不是每個人都會穿長袍，而且每個人的身形也不同。
因此，我們想到了製作 T 恤，因為 T 恤是最具代表性的休閒服裝。每個人的衣櫃裡都會有 T 恤，而我們可以通過將中國文化融入最休閒的單品—— T 恤，來使其生動起來。
T 恤的前襟將成為長衫的前襟。通常，上面會有一些中式花鈕點綴。因此，我們的保拉印花 T 恤的設計概念是，添加一些我們在設計長衫時通常使用的圖案輪廓，並用中式花鈕進行裝飾。這是將中國文化融入生活並擴展出去，讓更多人了解長衫的最簡單方法。
Not everyone would get a chance to wear a cheongsam, especially men. However, we want to create somethings with chinese culture as design elements to be a souvenir or a present to someone. Normally, we won’t say like giving someone a cheongsam as a gift cause not everyone would wear a gown and everyone has its own bodyshape.
Then, we thought of making a t-shirt as t-shirts are the most iconic casual wear. Everyone has a t-shirts in their wardrobe and we can bring the chinese culture into life by applying them onto the most casual items – T-shirts.
The front panel of the t-shirt would become the front panel of a cheongsam.Which usually there is some chinese buttons embellished on top. So our design concept behind the Paula Printed Tees is, to add with the outline of some patterns we usually used in designing cheongsam and embellished with chinese buttons. It can be the easiest way to bring the chinese culture into life and spread it out to let more people know about cheongsam.”
