The áo dài is a Vietnamese traditional
clothing, now most commonly worn by women but can also be worn by
men. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over
trousers. Áo translates as shirt.[1] Dài means
"long".[2]
The
word "ao dai" was originally applied to the outfit worn at the court
of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in
the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a
five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th
and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other
artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned
the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s.[3] The
updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary
Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers
tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese womentoday.[3] The
dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in
the 1960s and early 1970s. On Tết and
other occasions, Vietnamese men may wear an áo gấm (brocade robe), a version of the ao
dai made of thicker fabric.
Academic
commentary on the ao dai emphasizes the way the dress ties feminine beauty to
Vietnamese nationalism, especially in the form of "Miss Ao Dai"
pageants, popular both among overseas Vietnamese and in Vietnam itself.[4] "Ao
dai" is one of the few Vietnamese words that appear in English-language
dictionaries.
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