This cheongsam was worn by Han Suyin in the 1950s-60s when she worked in Singapore. Her daughter Chew Hui Im recalled that her mother did not wear cheongsam as frequently after the 1970s and she believed that Han would have tailor-made this cheongsam locally in Singapore. Han was a well-known Chinese writer was married to Leon F. Comber, a British officer in the Malayan Special Branch, and had her own clinic in Johore and Singapore. In 1955, Han Suyin contributed efforts to the establishment of Nanyang University in Singapore. Specifically, she offered her services and served as physician to the institution, after having refused an offer to teach literature as proposed by the first president of the university, Lin Yutang.
