Abstract: Dress culture is a cultural phenomenon unique to human beings. As it has different aesthetic ideas, different dressing concepts and different dress etiquette in China and west, it forms Chinese and western dress culture of the different connotation and characteristics. This thesis is divided into four major sections. The first part describes the different features of Chinese and western dress and why people wear clothing. The second part describes cultural differences between Chinese and western clothing. The third part gives an analysis of Chinese and western dress culture. The last part describes Chinese and western dress aesthetic culture and dress concept. Based on the analysis, the thesis finally draws a conclusion. Chinese and western dress culture each has rich connotation and distinct characteristics, which are precious cultural legacy which is left by human ancestors and are the world culture heritage. At the same time, we treasure our own civilization of five thousand years instead of belittling ourselves. It is significant to promote and develop our unique costume culture. We are confident and make contributions to realizing the rejuvenation of our Chinese nation and enriching the clothing culture of the whole world. Key words: Chinese and western clothing; culture;differences;aesthetic culture and clothing concepts 摘要摘要摘要摘要::::服饰文化是人类特有的文化现象。由于中西方各民族的审美观念、着装理念和服饰礼仪的不同,从而形成了不同内涵、不同特色的中西方服饰文化。本文共分为四部分。第一部分主要介绍了中西服饰的不同特征以及为什么人要穿衣服,第二部分写中西方服饰的差异,第三部分写导致中西方服饰文化差异的原因,第四部分则写中西方服饰审美文化和着装理念。通过以上简单的论述,最后得出结论,中西方服饰文化各具有丰富的内涵和鲜明的特色,她们都是人类祖先留下来的宝贵文化遗产 ,是世界文化的瑰宝。与此同时,我们应该珍惜自己五千年的文明而不是贬低自己的文明。促进和发展我们独特的民族服饰文化具有重要的意义。为了实现我们中华民族的文化复兴和丰富整个世界的文化,让我们自信起来吧! 关键词关键词关键词关键词::::中西服饰;文化;差异性;审美文化与着装理念Introduction Costume culture, carried by costume, is a respect of our physical and spiritual life and a mixture of our psychological activities like consciousness, emotion, idea and ideal. The rapid development of advanced technology makes multiculturalism stand out and also makes conflicts between China and the West increase. In that case, it becomes more and more important to recognize the similarities and differences of costume culture between China and the West. Nowadays, the whole world is, to some extent, dominated by the western costume culture, which has wound its way into the daily life of the whole world, together with technology, life style and values from the West. Quite popular in China, it’s nominally called “internationalization” or “globalization”. In recent years, the costume industry of China has developed swiftly. The “international” costume, featured by the western costume culture, has become a pretty important part of our daily life. However, as our economy takes off, international status rises and living standard improves, a wave of national costume culture resurgence is rising. Moreover, people from the West pay more and more attention to the giant dragon in the East——China. Western costume designers constantly introduce Chinese costume cultural elements to their latest designs. Those phenomena arouse a series of thoughts: what distinguishes Chinese costume culture from the western one? Are there any similarities between them? What kind of costume culture will we Chinese hold as the mainstream in the future, the so-called “international” western one, the Chinese one or the fusion of the two? To obtain the answers to these questions, we are supposed to study and contrast carefully the characteristics and developing processes of them, and then draw some regularity. To contrast the costume culture between China and the West, it is necessary for us to master a good knowledge of the Chinese and western costume cultural characteristics.Chapter 1 Chinese and western dress 1.1 The different features of Chinese and western dress China is known as “Xia” as it’s a land of propriety, and it’s also known as “Hua” with the beauty of its costume. (①《左传》p83) Our national costume is Hanfu. It originated in the Yanhuang era, formed in the Spring and Autumn Period and officially took form in Han Dynasty. That’s the reason why it’s called “Hanfu”. Since then, in spite of historical evolutions of all ages, their basic characteristics have never changed. Hanfu, on the whole, can be divided into four developing stages: Zhou Han Hanfu, Wei Jin Hanfu, Sui Tang Hanfu and Song Ming Hanfu. Zhou Han Hanfu was featured by dignity and simplicity, while Wei Jin Hanfu by chic and elegance, Sui Tang Hanfu by dignified, graceful, elegant and poised style. Hanfu in Song and Ming Dynasties epitomizes the characteristics of the past-simple, dignified, elegant, etc. In Qing Dynasty, Hanfu was forbidden by the government and disappeared from the land of China. The main features of Chinese clothing are focusing on the right collar’s overlap, the band deducted hidden, big sleeves, no buttons and using string binding, giving the impression of free and easy flowing. These characteristics are obviously different from those of other ethnic costumes. Hanfu is divided into uniform and common clothing. With strict standards, uniform is dressed on formal occasions while the common clothing, without long sleeves, is very convenient to people’s daily life. However, the western clothing is different form the Chinese clothing. The West belongs to Marine civilization, it emphasizes the subjective and objective separation and that we should rationally treat clothing, advocate releasing personality, stress dress effect and be good at showing beautiful the posture of the body. Besides, we use various clipping, color collocation means to perfect bodily curve and give a person with visual comfort in the modeling. A suit, also known as a business suit, comprises a collection of matching clothing consisting of: a coat﹙commonly known as a jacket﹚,a waistcoat﹙optional﹚﹙USA vest﹚for men, a pair of trousers﹙USA pants﹚, or for women, a shirt or trousers. A suit is generally accompanied by torment, a shirt and tie or for women, a blouse. 1.2 Why people wear clothingChinese people are concerned more about its social function of helping to rule a country well than that of keeping warm or decorating. It has a lot to do with ruling a country to regulate the dressing way of the common people. Nevertheless, the westerners pay more attention to its wealth value and function. Therefore, people put on clothing for functional and social reasons. 1.2.1 The functional reason The first use of clothing is to resist the cold and cover the body. Functions of clothing include providing the human body protection against extremes of climate (extreme heat, icy winters, and drenching storms) and protection against insects, noxious, chemicals, and contact with abrasive substances. In sum, clothing protects human beings against anything that might injure the naked, unprotected human body. 1.2.2 The social reason Clothing also delivers social messages to other humans. Social messages sent by clothing, accessories, and decorations can involve social status, occupation, ethnic and religious belief, marital status, cultural degree and sexual availability, etc. For example, only Roman citizens can wear “Toga” in Rome while dragon robe can only be dressed by the emperor in China.