Áo dài

In Viet Nam, the ao dai is the traditional dress for women. Developed from Chinese court clothing in the 1930s, this style of clothing went out of fashion in the north in 1954 and in the south in 1975. Recently, however, it has made a comeback and is regaining popularity in the south among schoolgirls and office workers, and is being worn at formal functions. An indication of social standing, the ao dai is worn by women who work as shop assistants or who have a higher social status, while manual workers typically wear a loose top and baggy pants called an ao ba ba.

The aodai (áo dài) is a Vietnamese national costume primarily for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk dress worn over pantaloons. Áo dài is pronounced ow yai in the South, and ow zai in the North. Áo is derived from a Middle Chinese word meaning "padded coat". In modern Vietnamese, áo refers to an item of clothing that covers from the neck down. Dài means "long."

The word áo dài was applied to various garments historically, including the áo ngũ thân, a 19th century aristocratic gown influenced by Chinese fashions. Inspired by Paris fashions, Hanoi artist Nguyễn Cát Tường redesigned the ngũ thân as a dress in 1930. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s. The communists, who have ruled all of Vietnam since 1975, disapproved of the dress and favored frugal, androgynous styles. In the 1990s, the áo dài regained popularity. The equivalent garment for men, called an áo gấm ("brocade robe"), is also worn on occasion, such as at a wedding or a death anniversary.

Academic commentary on the aodai emphasizes the way that the dress ties feminine beauty to Vietnamese nationalism, especially in the form of "Miss áo dài" pageants, popular both among overseas Vietnamese and in Vietnam itself. "Aodai" is one of the few Vietnamese words that appear in English-language dictionaries.

The ao dai is considered to be an elegant, yet demure, garment. Traditionally, long, wide- legged trousers are worn under a high-necked, long-sleeved, fitted tunic with slits along each side. The outfit’s pants reach to the soles of the feet, often trailing along the ground. Over time, the dress tunic has evolved, keeping with fashion trends, and has grown shorter and shorter until it now falls just below the knees. The ao dai can also be identified by its mandarin-style or boat-neck collar. Young girls wear only pastel colored or white garments while married women wear either dark or bright tunics over black or white trousers. Historically, Vietnamese men dressed in mandarin style suits. With a tunic shorter and fuller than the ao dai, the suit’s color was traditionally determined by the man’s class and social rank. For example, a purple suit denoted a high rank while blue denoted a low rank. Status was also indicated through a variety of embroidered symbols. Today the mandarin suit is rarely worn except for in traditional dance or music performances. In general, Vietnamese people dress conservatively. Although some young women wear more close-fitting, Western-style clothing, it is considered inappropriate to wear revealing clothes during the day. One Westerner teaching English in Viet Nam was advised to tuck her shirt into her trousers if she expected respect from her students. It is considered inappropriate for educated people to wear their shirts untucked.

The northern-4-flap dress is Vietnam's first "ao dai", only worn on the occasion of the Tet festival. The brown dress with the two fore-flaps tied together and let dangling matches with satin trousers and silk belts. Then the 4 flap dress has been modified into a 3-flap one: the collar being 2 cm high, the sleeves wrapping tightly to the wrists, breast and waist of main flaps, there is also a minor flap reaching down to the fringe. Buttons are made of plaited cloth and buttoned on the side. The collar is turned up obliquely to let appear three color ( or 7 colors ) of the dress. The outermost layer is of brown silk or a kind of black gauze, followed by light yellow, pink, lemon green, and sky-blue... multicolored ones...., attractive yet decent, discrete and harmonious...

Following the Europeanization wave in 1935, Lemur Nguyen Cat Tuong's "modern ao dai" made its apparition. It had puffed out shoulders, cuffed sleeves, a round collar cut breast-deep and laced, a corrugated fringe made of joined cloth of different colors and gaudily laced.

During the the 1939-1945 period there was a conflict on a esthetic concept, resulting in the restoration of the traditional ao dai. Young girls' collar was from 4 cm to 7 cm high, the roundness of which was ensured by a stipt starching, the flaps were of a broad width and of a 1958 and the beginning of 1959, Madam Ngo Dinh Nhu's low-necked, decollete ao dai was launched.

At the beginning of 1971, the raglan-sleeve ao dai renovated by Mrs. Tuyet Mai overcame the wrinkling short comings at the shoulders and the armpits.

From the early 1970's to 1975 it was the period at mini and hippy ao dai widely worn with tights and flares until 1989. The first ao dai beauty contest was restored under the communist regime since 1975 and the traditional ao dai returned to its suave beauty of old times. All young ladies were encouraged to wear the white ao dai to school which has been banned since 1975 after the falling of Sai Gon. All such contests as school beauty, sports beauty has been organized everywhere in the country, ao dai is the main category in these contests. Now only the Tien Phong Newspaper beauty contest is considered the official national contest and who is crowned from this contest become the national beauty queen and she will represent the country in all diplomatic occasions. This contest has been official started in 1992 and repeated every two year sine then ( 1994, 1996, 1998).

The year 1995 was the crowing year for the national ao dai. Truong Quynh Mai's ao dai was chosen the most beautiful national apparel in Tokyo... The 1995 renovated ao dai model suits well modern times, and is more beautiful at it's tightened at the breast, waist and back, its collar evenly circling round from 4 cm to 7 cm high, the sleeves just tighten the arms. Velvet ao dai, embroidered, painted and printed with flower pattern have created even more exquisite beauty features allowing Vietnam's ao dai to take off ever higher.

Over the time, it changed with the fashion trends from long tunic to short tunic. "Ao Dai" can also be worn in many different colors. For casual occasions, the young and single women wear pastel and bright colors such as yellow, white, and light blue. On the other hand, older and married women wear darker colors such as blue, purple, and brown.

"Ao Dai" is significant to Vietnamese women because it displays grace, beauty, and elegance. The occasions in which the "Ao Dai" is worn signifies the importance of the event.

As for today, high school girls are required to wear white "Ao Dai". White means purity, elegance, and young. It can also be considered as a "uniform" to unite the rich and poor within the school.

For worship, many women wear "Ao Dai" that has little or no designs. The temple and church are considered "simple" and do not need "flashy designs" to contaminate their purity and innocence.

And, for marriage, the bride usually wears beautiful "Ao Dai" in red or pink. The designs of the "Ao Dai" for a matrimonial ceremony often display mythical figures such as the dragon and phoenix and Chinese prints.

Recently, "Ao Dai" is gaining popularity among young Vietnamese woman. Because of the Vietnamese open-market to Western cultures, young designers took another level in designing "Ao Dai". They used the traditional patterns of the dress and applied with modern designs, textures, and fabrics creating a new, and original fresh, clean cut mixed with then and now. However, "Ao Dai" is still unique and special not only to the eyes of the Vietnamese people, but also to the eyes of Westerners