Chinese Girls' Drill Team headdress

This headdress was worn by Donna Lee Chan when she was leader of the Chinese Girls’ Drill Team. The team was sponsored by the Chinese Benevolent Association, practiced in Strathcona School grounds and the parking lot of the Ding-Ho Drive-In, and marched in local parades, the Grey Cup and at Kitsilano Showboat. The parents of families that moved out of Chinatown in the 1950s (and up Cambie and Main Street) encouraged their teenaged daughters to participate so that they would get to know other girls of Chinese background. This headdress is part of the team’s first proper uniform, which was commissioned from a Hong Kong company. In 1960, the group added a second set of costumes in red, with the leader, Donna, wearing yellow. The costumes were worn with white buck lace-up shoes.