Costumes of the World - Vietnam

These original, hand drawn illustrations are from my Costumes of the World collection and depict the traditional Vietnamese Áo dài style dress for men and women.
 
The word "áo dài" 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 Hanoi artists redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. The updated look was promoted as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today.

In its current form, it is a long, split tunic dress worn over trousers. Áo translates as shirt. Dài means “long”. Modern Vietnamese men and women usually wear Áo Dài for special occasions rather than in day-to-day life, however, it is the required uniform for female teachers (mostly from high school to below) and female students in common high schools in the South and many companies often require their female staff to wear uniforms that include the áo dài.
 
You can read more about traditional Vietnamese dress here at nationalclothing.org

Sizes available:
A5 / 210 x 148mm
A4 / 297 x 210mm

All open editions, signed in pencil.

Ready to be mounted and framed, each print is accompanied by short costume bio and posted with a protective greyboard backing in a bio-degradable sleeve, and in a hard-backed envelope.