Hello everyone! Today I will be looking at another folk
costume! This article will be about Vietnamese folk costume áo dài. Viet Nam is a small country south of
China.
Áo dài is a long
tunic (áo) worn over palazzo like pants(dài). It is made of silk. It can come
in any colour. The tunic usually comes with a high "oriental style"
collar in traditional styles. Modern style tunics have no collar. Traditionally
áo dài was a loose garment with lots of fabric however modern áo dài are very
fitted.
The earliest form of the áo dài dates back to the
Nguyen dynasty of the 18th century. It was mostly worn by aristocrats who
favoured expensive fabric. From the 20th century on, many schools for girls
have had the áo dài as the uniform for students. A famous Vietnamese fashion
designer known as 'Le Mur' helped modernize the áo dài by creating the fitted
version we see today. During the communist period modern áo dài was rarely worn
in Viet Nam as it was seen as too decadent. Looser versions were preferred
during the communist period and was only worn at weddings and other special
occasions.
Currently the áo dài
is now worn as school uniforms for girls and is also uniform for many service
industries like flight attendant, waitresses, bank tellers, etc.. It is usually
worn for special occasions now but is still worn day to day by some women in
Viet Nam.
This is what Áo dài looks like in real life
This is my recreation on SD:
I used: 'Oriental Summer Dress' from Callie's Picks, Stardesign pants and jacket, 'Silver Soiree Sandals' from Jet Set, and 'Bright Crystal Hoops' from Sunny Bunny.
Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a great week!
-Amy Katrina, csi12asa
