Chinatown’s Girls Drill Team Uniform , 1960-62
60 x 46 cm (h x w)
Garment
[H2008.21.2a-e ]

This is a uniform consisting of a bright green tunic and trousers worn by the Chinatown Girls’ Drill Team. The tunic is trimmed with silver sequins, beads, and a white fringe. The trousers have a narrow waistband and are tapered towards the ankles. This uniform comes with accessories, including the mandarin collar, a belt, and an elaborate tiara-shaped headdress. It belonged to Donna Lee Chan, the Girls’ Drill Team leader, between 1960 and 1962. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, traditional Chinese dance has been a significant part of students’ education in Chinese public schools in Canada. Vancouver’s Chinatown offered an excellent platform for these Chinese cultural performances. At its prime during the 1920s, it was a self-contained community that had Chinese theatres, public schools, a hospital, a library and many associated businesses run by Chinese Canadians. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923) and racial discrimination towards the Chinese led Chinatown to fall into despair and poor conditions. By the 1960s, the provincial government decided to repair Vancouver’s Chinatown and preserve it as a historic district. Thus, the 1960s Girls’ Drill Team uniform symbolized new life, cultural reactivation and prosperity in Vancouver Chinatown.

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Violet Wolfe

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