On a first mamian, don’t start by counting pleats. Look at the flat panel in the center. The pleats sit at the sides and move when you walk. This note only covers how to recognize the cut we sell, who should buy it, and the three measurements to take before you pay.
The shelf is women’s forms. The long size note is size and care. Names are in ruqun, mamian, yuanling.
What this skirt actually is
Mamian does not mean a riding skirt. There is a fairly flat panel front and back. The pleats are on the sides. On the pieces we label as Ming-cut, the usual making is two skirt bodies on one waistband: four panels, overlapped when worn, so you usually see two flat faces. That is the cut of this ready-to-wear lot. It is not the only cut found on every excavated skirt.
It is not a tube of pleats all the way around. Panel width is not your waist size. Widths discussed elsewhere run from about 5 cm to nearly 40 cm. Some pleats are parallel. Some are narrow at the top and wider below. Read width and pleat together.
Who should buy one, and who should wait
Buy it if you want those two flat panels and side pleats that move, and if you will measure your waist and read the chart on this piece. Photos, a garden afternoon, a walk at home before you go out: it holds. Whether the waistband adjusts is written on the piece. Don’t assume you can cinch every one.
- Wait if you want pleats all the way around. This skirt does not do that.
- Wait if you sit on the train all day and still want the pleats to look as they did when you left. An afternoon of sitting twists the panels and kills the pleat.
- Wait if you will not measure, and plan to “take a size up.” A loose waist throws the panels off center.
Open the Mantingfang printed mamian and read the size note beside the buy box before you browse the shelf.
Three measurements before you order
- Bare waist: stand straight, tape on the narrowest point. Add the ease this piece asks for. Don’t size up by feel.
- Length: from the top of the waistband to the hem you want. Use this piece’s chart, not the model’s height.
- Height and weight on the page are reference only. The chart and the return rule decide.
Sleeves that sweep the floor, and hems that trip you, are in three measuring mistakes. A waist-length ruqun is a different waistline: ruqun primer.
