{"id":585,"date":"2021-05-15T07:48:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-15T07:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.etravelvietnam.com.vn\/?p=585"},"modified":"2021-05-15T07:48:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T07:48:00","slug":"ao-dai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/2021\/05\/15\/ao-dai\/","title":{"rendered":"Ao Dai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vietnam\u2019s national dress, the \u00e1o d\u00e0i is one of the country\u2019s most striking symbols of beauty. Over\u00a0hundreds of years<\/a>, the \u00e1o d\u00e0i has evolved alongside Vietnam, going from regal to practical, humble to high fashion, and back again. The Vietnamese \u00e1o d\u00e0i \u00a0is appreciated by the young and old alike, and its elegant lines flatter both men and women. If you\u2019re interested to learn more about the story of \u00e1o d\u00e0i and tips for making your own, read on.
The story of \u00e1o d\u00e0i<\/strong>
The story of the \u00e1o d\u00e0i starts in 1744, when Vietnam was divided into two territories, the Inner Land (\u0110\u00e0ng Trong) and Outer Land (\u0110\u00e0ng Ngo\u00e0i.) To distinguish his people, Lord Nguy\u1ec5n Ph\u00fac Kho\u00e1t of Inner Land asked his subjects to wear a front-buttoned gown with trousers. This five-part dress (\u00e1o ng\u0169 th\u00e2n<\/em>) was the inspiration for the modern \u00e1o d\u00e0i. Royals and elites made their dresses from the finest silk, with intricate details and vibrant colours to represent rankings in court.\u00a0
In the 1930s, the dress was simplified into two parts by Vietnamese artist Le Mur Nguy\u1ec5n C\u00e1t T\u01b0\u1eddng. The front flap was extended to reach the ankle, and the form became more fitted. As with many \u2018westernized\u2019 ideas, the style was only reluctantly received at first. However, after Le Mur designed an \u00e1o d\u00e0i collection for Queen Nam Ph\u01b0\u01a1ng, wife of Vietnam’s last Emperor B\u1ea3o \u0110\u1ea1i, urban women started to embrace and popularize the more contemporary style.\u00a0
After the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, H\u1ed3 Ch\u00ed Minh penned an essay in 1947 noting that the \u00e1o d\u00e0i was not fit for the fields or the factory, asking Vietnamese to adapt their attire to be more efficient for work. As a result, the \u00e1o d\u00e0i became a dress saved for professional appearances and special occasions. Nowadays, across the country, female highschool students are required to wear the dress for at least one day a week. Girls in white \u00e1o d\u00e0i riding their bicycles to school have inspired many Vietnamese songs, poems, and paintings. The\u00e1o d\u00e0i is also worn by ladies of all ages whenever it\u2019s time to make a good impression.\u00a0
TIP: Visit the \u00e1o d\u00e0i collection on permanent display at the\u00a0Vietnamese Women’s Museum<\/a>\u00a0in Hanoi, to learn more about the history of the dress and its many variations.\u00a0
Modern styles of \u00e1o d\u00e0i<\/strong>
Boat neck, cropped length, short sleeves–modern designers are not afraid to explore creative routes when it comes to \u00e1o d\u00e0i. Some of these new takes on the traditional dress have made it more practical, which means they can be worn in less formal settings. Knee-length styles are convenient for wearing on motorcycles and bicycles, and you\u2019ll see a variety of more casual collars worn on summer days, including scoop neck and boat neck styles.\u00a0
When to wear \u00e1o d\u00e0i<\/strong>
Vietnamese women love wearing \u00e1o d\u00e0i for photo shoots in beautiful settings. Golden Autumn days in Hanoi call for photo sessions around Ho\u00e0n Ki\u1ebfm Lake. During T\u1ebft (Lunar New Year) you\u2019ll see the dress in all its glory as women wear it to visit friends and family, and pay tribute at temples and shrines. A wedding is the perfect time to wear one\u2019s best \u00e1o d\u00e0i. In Vietnam, the bride and groom and the wedding entourage will wear elaborate \u00e1o d\u00e0i at the traditional ceremony, then guests will show up for the reception in simpler but equally colourful designs.\u00a0
\u00c1o d\u00e0i colours<\/strong>
When choosing an \u00e1o d\u00e0i, each colour has meaning. In Imperial times, gold was a royal colour and reserved for kings and queens. Red \u00e1o d\u00e0i are worn during T\u1ebft for luck and prosperity. Brides and grooms may also wear red on their wedding day, so it’s a good idea to come in a different colour if you’re a guest. White symbolizes purity and innocence, as seen in the white dresses of highschool students, and black is most often worn at funerals. Vietnamese women also choose \u00e1o d\u00e0i colours based on their element (metal, wood, water, fire, or earth) taken from their year of birth.
Making your own \u00e1o d\u00e0i<\/strong>\u00a0
Anyone can wear \u00e1o d\u00e0i as a way of showing respect. Fancy dinners, important meetings, and celebrations are all suitable occasions, just be sure to always wear your\u00a0\u00e1o d\u00e0i over pants or trousers. If you are looking for ready-to-wear \u00e1o d\u00e0i, you will be spoilt for choice at shops in Hanoi\u2019s Old Quarter and the H\u1ed9i An Ancient Town. H\u1ed9i\u00a0An\u2019s tailors can also make you an entirely new dress in a matter of days. Feel free to choose your own style and colours to add a personal touch. To create a personalised \u00e1o d\u00e0i, visit V\u1ea1n Ph\u00fac silk village, 20 minutes from Hanoi. Here you can shop for high-quality silk from the source, learn about silk-making, get your \u00e1o d\u00e0i tailored and take gorgeous photos among flowing silk ribbons.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vietnam\u2019s national dress, the \u00e1o d\u00e0i is one of the country\u2019s most striking symbols of beauty. Over\u00a0hundreds of years, the \u00e1o d\u00e0i has evolved alongside Vietnam, going from regal to practical, humble to high fashion, and back again. The Vietnamese \u00e1o d\u00e0i \u00a0is appreciated by the young and old alike, and its elegant lines flatter […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-tradition","category-viet-nam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etravelvietnam.com.vn\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}