History and Development of Vietnamese Ao Dai

History and Development of Vietnamese Ao Dai. Vietnamese Ao Dai (Vietnam’s Long Dress) is considered to be a special national traditional costume. Born for a long time, Ao Dai is the subject of composition in many art fields. It honors the traditional beauty value of Vietnamese women. Through many generations of modern ao dai, there are changes to suit the fashion trends and the needs of human dress, but it still retains the cultural identity of the country. This article will help you understand a little more about Ao Dai.

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The history and Development of Vietnamese ao dai

Ao dai is a traditional Vietnamese dress, worn with pants, covering the body from the neck to over the knee and is for both men and women but is now more commonly known as women’s. Ao dai is often worn on festivals and performances; or in environments that require solemnity and courtesy; or a school girl’s uniform in high school or college; or representing national clothing in international relations. Most Vietnamese beauties choose Ao Dai for the national costume competition at international beauty contests.

In the past, Ao Dai was often worn with a sport cap, conical hat, or scarf. But the most primitive type of Ao Dai was the consignment shirt. Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat was considered to be the inventor of the Ao Dai and shaping the Vietnamese Ao dai today.

The word “Ao dai” (ao dai / ˈaʊ ˌdʌɪ /) was originally included in the Oxford dictionary and is explained as a type of dress of Vietnamese women with 2 front and back hems. Over many generations of modern Ao Dai, there have been changes to suit the fashion trends and the needs of people, but it still retains the cultural identity of the people of thousands of years.

17th century: Ao Giao Lanh

The original design of the Ao Dai was Ao Giao Lanh. It includes an overcoat and a petticoat, wearing the same black skirt and belt color similar to the four-piece dress (Ao Tu Than), the only difference is that the front two flaps are let loose, not tied on the belly.

18th century – early 20th century: Ao Tu Than

In order to make it more convenient for women to work in the fields, the ancients created a neat quadruple shirt with 2 separate front flaps and can be tied, the two later ties are sewn together into one piece. The shirt was sewn to serve the common people. At that time, the size of the fabric was only about 35-40cm, so it was convenient to sew one cloth later. Four-body tops are often sewn with dark fabric to facilitate project work.

A five-part dress – an outfit for urban women with little manual labor, wears a five-part dress to distinguish it from the working poor. The five-part dress has four flaps like the four-part dress, sewn together into two pieces: front and back. The 5th sub-tie is sewn below the front flap to create a discreet lining. The five-part dress has a wide neck and shape.

The first innovations

Ao Dai Le Pho (1934)

In 1934, a Vietnamese painter Le Pho removed the stretchy and tough lines of Le Mur’s shirt. At the same time, he added ethnic elements from the four-part dress, five-body shirt, creating a long bodice style. ancient, hugging body, while the lower flaps are loosing down. This combination was harmonious and completed between the new and the old, and was warmly welcomed by women at that time. From here, the Vietnamese ao dai has found its standard shape, and from now on, despite many ups and downs, many stylized reforms, the shape of the Ao Dai has basically remained the same.

A few Ao Dai stylists started to appear in this period, but they were nearly able to remove only the part of the spine, because Western fabrics were woven in wider widths. The most famous tailor shop at that time was the Cat Tuong tailor shop in Hang Da street, Hanoi. In 1939, this stylist launched a Europeanized Ao Dai. The Le Mur Ao Dai’s collar was cut in heart shape. Sometimes the shirt was attached with a neckline and a bow in the front. Sewing stitches on the shoulder and on the right side. But this Ao Dai only existed until about 1943.

Ho Ngoc Ha in lemur

By around 1950, the Ao Dai began to be sewn with the waist. The tailors at that time were clever to design Ao Dai according to the body shape. The back body of the shirt was wider than the front, allowing the shirt to form the body shape without crouching the waist. The bodice is narrower. The inner body was cut short from this stage. The collar started to go up, while the fringe was lowered.

Ao dai Tran Le Xuan (1958)

At the end of 1958, when Tran Le Xuan was still the First Lady of the Republic of Vietnam, she designed a new innovative Ao Dai without the collar. This open-necked dress is known as Tran Le Xuan Ao Dai or Mrs. Nhu Ao Dai. Not only the style is new, this open-necked Ao Dai is also “broken” with decorative motifs: ingrown bamboo branches. Some western critics argue that it makes sense for the tropical weather of southern Vietnam. But this style angered the archaeologists at the time and condemned it for not conforming to fine customs. This type of dress without collar is still popular today and the neck is cut deep round rather than as short as the original.

Raglan Ao Dai (1960)

In 1960, Dung Tailor in Da Kao, Saigon invented a way to assemble raglan arms on Ao Dai. This fixes the wrinkles on both sides of the armpit, in this way the sleeves are connected from the neck to the armpits. The two flaps are connected by a knot along the hip. This style embraces the wearer’s curves, helping the woman to move her hand more comfortably and flexibly.

Miniraglan Ao Dai (1960 – 1970)

In the 1960s, the dress with waist creases challenged the traditional view to become fashionable. At this time, the convenient corset has been widely used. Urban women wanted to show off the curves of their bodies through the style of a long dress that is very tight to show the chest.

Near the end of the 1960s, the Miniraglan Ao Dai became popular among girls because of its comfort and convenience. Accordingly, the flap was sewn to the ankles, but the trousers were spread over the feet. Nowadays it is also known as the schoolgirl’s Ao Dai.

School girl's Ao Dai — School girl’s Ao Dai

After the 1970s, Ao Dai was gradually disappearing on the street because of Doi Moi. However, by the 1990s, Ao Dai was back, more sophisticated, more elegant and became a symbol of Vietnamese women.

Vietnamese ao dai structure

• Classic collar about 4 to 5cm high. Today, the long-neck style is varied widely such as heart style, round neck, U-shaped neck, on the collar is usually studded with jade.

• The body of Ao Dai is calculated from the neck to the waist. Buttons are usually from neck to shoulder and then down to hip level. From the waist, the body of Ao Dai is split into two flaps, the flap is split on the sides.

• Ao dai has two flaps: front and back ones. In the old days, the front wing was equal to the lower one, but today, there are many types of the front and the back. The front flap is often embroidered with patterns or poems.

• The sleeve is sewn tight to the arms, reaching beyond the wrist.

• The dress was worn with pants instead of a skirt. Ao Dai are sewn wide and long down to the heels. Ao Dai, which was used to be made of sturdy fabric, are now often made with soft fabrics. The most common color is white. But the current fashion trend is that long clothes go with the color of the shirt.

Ao dai in Saigon exhibit July 2020

An exhibition on periodic changes in the traditional dress of Vietnamese women over 100 years will run in Ho Chi Minh City till July 2.

The “ao dai” exhibit is organized along Saigon’s Nguyen Hue pedestrian street to mark the 44th anniversary of the day Saigon-Gia Dinh was officially named after Ho Chi Minh.

Renovated dresses with a host of styles and designs were born by artist Nguyen Cat Tuong in 1934. These new designs included collarless, puff shoulder, short sleeves dresses, etc.

Renovated dresses depicting a host of styles and designs were created by artist Nguyen Cat Tuong in 1934. These new designs included collarless, puff shoulder, and short sleeve dresses.