Ao Dai

Ao Dai is Vietnamese traditional long gown with trousers by Vietnamese Women that has become the symbol of the Vietnamese feminime beauty and the pride of the Vietnamese People. Ao Dai had long been rhe source of artists and poets, and thus had become an institution dedicated on Vietnamese arts and literature. Ao Dai was born as the costume required to be worn by the southern courtiers under the reign of the southern lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat in 18th century. Eager to establish a separate identity from his northern rivals, the Trinh Lords, who enjoyed the status of regents to the puppet kings of the declining Le dynasty, Lord Nguyen decreed that men and women of his court wore trousers covered by a long gown. Thus was born Ao Dai that borrowed the style of clothing worn by the Cham, the original inhabitants of the land to the south of the dividing Gianh River. Ao Dai was Lord Nguyen’s way to show his respect of the culture of the Cham and to win over their support. In modern days, Ao Dai has become the Vietnamese women’s choice of fashion for special occasion such as Lunar Year.