Ao dài Việt Nam, traditional Vietnamese dress.

 

The word "áo dài" was originally applied to the outfit worn at the court of the Nguyen Lords at Huế in the 18th century.  In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit of the áo dài to create the version commonly worn by women today.  The áo dài experienced a revival beginning in late 1980s, and the design is now supported by the Vietnamese government. It is often called áo dài Việt Nam to link it to patriotic feelings.

 

The most popular style of áo dài fits tightly around the wearer's upper body.  Although the dress covers the entire body, it is thought to be provocative, especially when it is made of thin fabric. "The áo dài covers everything, but hides nothing", according to one saying. The dress must be individually fitted and usually requires several weeks for a tailor to complete.

This beautiful young girl was at the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi.

 

The áo dài would be an extremely challenging garment for most western women to wear.  It consists of long trousers, generally of a light weight or shiny fabric, loosely flowing in the legs, but smoothly fitted right up to the waist.  The top is a tunic which is split at the sides, sometimes from a couple of inches above the waist.  This area is taut, smooth and golden on 99% of the Vietnamese women we saw wearing it.  Any hint of a muffin top/spare tyre, cellulite, pastiness or even the natural inclination of flesh to bunch up a bit above a fitted waistband would be mercilessly exposed.  

This beautiful young girl was also at the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi.

 

A plain white áo dài is a common high school in the South.  (We didn’t see this, but it sounds horribly impractical.)  Companies often require their female staff to wear uniforms that include the áo dài, so flight attendants, receptionists, restaurant staff, and hotel workers in Vietnam may be seen wearing it.  We did see this.

This salesgirl at the silk factory we visited in Hoi An was wearing áo dài.

 

The áo dài is now standard for weddings, for celebrating Tết and for other formal occasions.  The Vietnamese and western members of this wedding party we saw in Huế are wearing áo dài.  The bride and groom are in the traditional wedding colours of red and gold.

This wedding dress seems to be a compromise between western white and áo dài.  This couple were beside the Hoan Kiem Lake in Ha Noi, a popular spot for wedding photos.

 

Here’s the same outfit from the back.  The groom is holding the flowers so the bride can hold the back flap of her tunic up off the ground.  They are walking onto the red The Huc Bridge to the Ngoc Son Temple in Hoan Kiem Lake, a very picturesque spot.    

 

This bride (I think she’s a bride) has a white tunic with black trousers for her áo dài beside Hoan Kiem Lake.

 

Here they are again.

 

Once again, another white tunic with black trousers, and once again, I’m not sure if she’s a bride either, but the cane shopping baskets seem to be all the go.  And once again, she’s very pretty.

 

And here they are again.