The creators of The Longest Day in Chang'an did their best to reconstruct all aspects of the Tang era, from etiquette to attire.
During the Tang Dynasty men usually wore yuanlingpao 圆领袍 - “round-collared robe”, more practical and comfortable than clothes of the earlier eras. Yuanlingpao was inherited from the Northern Qi and Sui Dynasties, but also influenced by the hu - “northern barbarian” - fashion from Sogdiana and Persia.
As everywhere in the world before the invention of cheap, bright and persistent dyes, the color of clothes in the Tang era indicated a social position: the brighter and purer the shade, the richer and higher in rank the person is.
The Tang officials wore clothes of different colors depending on their rank. In the picture above, the ranks grow from right to left - from light-blue to purple.
The purple color signified the highest position. Officials in purple wore on their belt a fish-shaped pendant made of gold, officials in red - made of silver. These pendants served as a sign of authority and as a pass into the Imperial palace.
In The Longest day in Chang'an, purple robes are worn by eunuch Guo Lishi, chancellor Lin Jiulang and by the Crown Prince tutor He Zhizheng. He Zhizheng golden fish token also plays a role in the plot.
The Crown Prince attendant Yao Runeng wears a red yuanlingpao and a pendant with silver fishes:
Women during this period had a variety of styles to choose from, but the most iconic female attire of the Tang Dynasty is a dress with a chest-high skirt - ruqun 襦裙, often accompanied by a wide and long scarf - pibo 披帛:
The Tang Dynasty was a time of a relative freedom for women. They learned history, politics, and military skills, played polo. The dark ages of Neo-Confucianism and foot binding hadn’t come yet.
At the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Princess Pingyang personally participated in battles, having led a detachment of women to help her father, Emperor Gaozu. Princess Taiping, daughter of Emperor Gaozong, twice suppressed mutinies inside the Imperial court.
This was reflected by the female fashion: like men, women also wore yuanlingpao, as well as hufu 胡服 - “clothes in the northern barbarian style”, which allowed more freedom in movements.
In The Longest day in Chang'an, Tan Qi, Zhang Xiaojing, Prince Yong, Wang Yunxiu, Wen Ran, Long Bo wear hufu:
Differences between the “northern barbarian” hufu and the Chinese yuanlingpao (hanfu):
1) hufu is often shorter;
2) hufu usually has a turn-up collar:
3) the most important distinction - the flap of hufu is in the middle, the flap of yuanlingpao is on the right:
Despite having a turn-up collar, this is hanfu (yuanlingpao), not hufu, because the flap in on the right side:
In The Longest day in Chang'an, hufu and yuanlingpao also differ in that hufu are made from fabric with “exotic”, bright, distinctly foreign prints, while yuanlingpao - from fabric with woven patterns, or fabric with more subtle, Chinese-looking prints.
Emperor Xuanzong in yuanlingpao (hanfu):
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