Ao Dai's (Traditional Dress)

Traditionally the colour and shape of clothing in Vietnam was subject to strict rules laid down by the minister of Rites. Dress was an integral part of birth, school, marriage death and other key events in Vietnamese life with special dress codes for each. Women, symbolically belonging to “am” the principle of darkness, required them to cover their bodies, while men needed only cover their waists.

Traditional dress only changed in 1774 when the Chinese Tunic (ao sam) became popular, popularity that remain until the 1930’s in Vietnam. Dark conservative colours gradually gave way to brightly coloured garments making a break with the traditionally plain brown and black. Both a whim of fashion and a symbol of the emancipated woman, the ao dai is an update on the traditional ao tu than tunic made from four panels of cloth which feature tight sleeves, no colour and a slit that runs from the waist to the ankle on each side of the panel.

Now consider as traditional dress, the Ao Dai is actually a relatively recent invention. It was designed by painter Nguyen Cat Tuong, a Hanoi Fine Arts graduate and columnist in for a Vietnamese woman magazine. Fortuitously, Tuong also happened to be the proprietor of a fashion boutique in downtown Saigon where he created the pattern and sold it, promoting its wearing in his magazine with an article entitled “The uniform of a woman.” Later a male Ao Dai was also produced but has never been nearly as popular as the female version of the dress which has enjoyed a revival since in recent years.

The other piece of clothing unique to Vietnam is the Ao Yem that for Vietnamese women was a vest for 19th century European women. A very simple garment, it consists of a square piece of cloth with one corner cut away to fit under the women’s throat. Although no longer popular in the city these days, older women still wear the garment of their childhood. While the wearers may age, the ao yem retains its timeless charm.

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