Ao dai in many ways

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy in the countryside market.

Ao Dai at the Countryside Market

Saigon has a weekly market called Cho Que (Countryside Market), which only meets on Sunday mornings at 7 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1. The vendors here all wear ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress), and shoppers also frequently wear ao dai.

The initiator of the rural market in ao dai is Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - President of the Mothers' Association. Thuy is probably one of the people who wear ao dai most often in Saigon. The Mothers' Association has been around for a long time in Saigon, persistently encouraging women, not only in the association, to wear ao dai as a daily habit.

Ms. Thanh Thúy is also the initiator of the "Ao Dai Handover" program - a project that receives and distributes ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dresses), helping to extend the lifespan of the ao dai. The project has been running for over 10 years.

At first, the Ao Dai was passed around by asking for or receiving Ao Dai from retired teachers, then giving them to poor teachers or new graduates who could not afford to buy their own. Over time, the Ao Dai recipients expanded to include many aunts who were in-laws, attending weddings...

Ms. Thuy believes that wearing ao dai also contributes to promoting social security. The Mothers’ Club is also a place to receive and market products from many silk and brocade villages; many tailors who cut and embroider ao dai are disabled people and hand embroiderers are increasingly rare in urban areas.

The love for ao dai was passed down to her from her mother, a weaver in the Bay Hien area in the past. And now, her growing daughter Thuy has also naturally “infected” that love. For Thuy and her daughter, the ao dai has become everyday clothing.

The story of the teacher who has worn the traditional Vietnamese dress for 27 years.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Duyen, an English teacher at Nguyen Hien High School (Duy Xuyen district), recently conducted a small survey with her students.

Teacher Duyen (in the yellow shirt) is sitting among her students.

"When asked about the traditional ao dai, all the students in my 11/8 class agreed that the ao dai is the most beautiful outfit for women, and they preferred seeing their teachers wearing ao dai rather than Western suits."

More than 50% of female students said they like to wear ao dai on holidays and spring outings; but surprisingly, 95% of female students in grade 11/8 said they do not like to wear ao dai to school. They gave reasons such as: not being able to run or jump, not being comfortable when moving, difficulty in moving, and the ao dai gets dirty easily" - Ms. Duyen said.

When teacher Duyen asked these questions to the students of class 10/1, she received similar answers. Besides, there were also opinions that they were very happy to wear the ao dai for the first time, but when wearing the ao dai the next times, they really felt inconvenient and cumbersome while moving. That student also said that although the ao dai helps to show off the body, at the same time the ao dai also reveals the body defects of some female students.

“About two-thirds of the teachers at my school are also reluctant to wear ao dai to class every day, even though they agree that they look more beautiful in ao dai. I am one of the few who prioritize beauty, as long as I am beautiful, I am willing to work hard. For 27 years of teaching, I still wear ao dai during class. Ao dai is the outfit that makes me most confident when appearing in front of everyone,” Ms. Duyen shared.

And this teacher stated that everyone wearing Ao Dai becomes more beautiful, from the elderly to children. However, many teachers and women find it inconvenient to wear Ao Dai. People wearing Ao Dai must walk slowly and leisurely, if they walk quickly, they are likely to trip and fall because the Ao Dai and wide pants get in the way.

“To fix this, I often choose a modernized ao dai, with a shorter hem, smaller and shorter pants, more loosely sewn, and a slightly stretchy material for ease of movement and to suit my daily commute.

Currently, there's a trend for hand-embroidered linen ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress), with a loose fit, not too tight at the waist, comfortable to wear, and possessing a simple, charming beauty. Aren't the flight attendants of Vietnam Airlines still very dynamic and beautiful in those ao dai?” – Ms. Duyen added.

The story of a fashion boutique for Japanese tourists.

For nearly 30 years, the Mangrove fashion shop on Mac Thi Buoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City has been a popular destination for Japanese tourists looking to have their ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress) made.

Japanese tourists at the Mangrove fashion store in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Van Nhat Biu, the shop owner, tells a common story: if a Japanese tourist comes to the shop with a Vietnamese friend, the Vietnamese friend will definitely advise the Japanese friend, asking the shop to cut and tailor the dress according to the traditional style, meaning a tight waist, hugging the figure, long skirt... Then, when receiving the dress, the Japanese customer will wear it to please the friend and then return to the shop alone one more time to ask for it to be made wider.

Japanese tourists love wearing the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress), but they prioritize comfort for everyday activities. They often choose modernized ao dai designs, or dresses that are longer than knee-length but don't have the hem touching their heels, preferring a collar rather than a boat neckline, and not a fitted waist.

The way they test whether they like the new dress is by... stretching their arms, stretching back and forth, and putting their arms around it to see if it gets in the way under their armpits. As long as it feels comfortable, it's fine. Mr. Biu said he was quite shocked when he saw Japanese women wearing his shop's ao dai with sneakers, but he got used to it and found it pretty.

The shop owner smiled, sewing for Japanese customers so much that the shop's workers could not go back to sewing the usual ao dai style. He said that Japanese customers really liked hand-embroidered ao dai, and he was glad because it helped stabilize the livelihood of the workers he had known for decades. A job that is fading away as Saigon increasingly has a shortage of skilled hand embroiderers.

“Seeing Japanese people wearing traditional Vietnamese clothes walking around makes me happy. Just think, their traditional kimono clothes, even if they wanted to, can’t be worn comfortably in daily life like the ao dai. I like innovation. When people look at the ao dai and ask what it is, then we should be worried,” said Mr. Biu.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/ao-dai-muon-neo-3143727.html