Page 266 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

Under Le Huyền Tông’s reign, a religious ceremony in honor of the sky and the earth was
organized in the southern quarter of the Thăng Long Citadel. Participating in this ceremony
were officials and soldiers, as well as imperial guards inside the royal palace such as Thị
Kiệu, Thị Nội, Kim Ngô, Cẩm Y, etc. They all wore red caps, a thanh cát tunic with red edging
and white fringes, and held flags and imperial equipage. Twenty royal guards, all holding a
copper mace; wore red hats and blue-brocaded shirts with elephant design. The King wore a
xung thiên cap, golden court robe, and gem-inlaid waistband. The Lord also wore a xung thiên
cap, purple court robe, and gem-inlaid waistband. The Royal Masters of Ceremonies wore a
bonnet with golden wings, donning a purple royal robe embroidered with unicorn design,
gold-covered waistband with a medal made of precious stones.
Under Le Dụ Tông’s reign, there was a regulation on making headgear and clothing from
thanh cát cloth. This kind of cloth and T-letter-shaped caps were commonly used by every
class. However, up to this period, there were restrictions on the size of clothing to distinguish
different social ranks.
In 1720, there was another change in the rules of dress styles. Royal family members had
to wear Chinese gauze garments and a horsehair cap in spring and summer. In the autumn
and winter, clothes were made of Chinese satin in the color of aloe wood with caps of black
satin. Costumes of civil and military mandarins from the highest to the third rank also varied
according to seasons: black Chinese gauze in spring and summer, black Chinese satin in
autumn and winter. Civil officials used a double-layered cap, while military officials used a
single-layered cap. Fourth-rank officials wore clothes made of gauze. Court servants wore a
bình đính cap with a hexagonal shape. When attending ceremonial occasions in an official
capacity, civil and military officials as well as court servants had to wear thanh cát garments
and a black-gauze cap.

Until 1781, soldiers’ costumes in different districts had their own style, with distinctive
features.
Concerning the Tây Sơn guerilla troop costumes, they were known to wrap a red turban and
remain bare chested in the battles with Nguyễn Lord forces. On the coronation day of Nguyễn
Huệ, soldiers wore a red cap, brocade shirts while gathering around the altar for sacrificing to
the God. Towards the middle of the year 1788, the Tây Sơn soldiers under the command of
King Nguyễn Nhạc in Quy Nhơn were seen “wearing dark blue woolen clothes, leather or
painted paper caps on which there were steel letter carvings as those on the sword handles
or scabbards.”
Costumes of the common people
To distinguish between social ranks and prevent encroaching of influence, the royal court
decreed a ban on common people wearing shoes, clothing of yellow, or use dragon-carved or
phoenix’carved items. The weaving of the mát cap was also prohibited because it was said
that people stole royal horses’ hair to make these caps. Common people were also not
allowed to wear thủy ma hats and red-painted hats, which were made only for the imperial
guards. The making and selling of white items were also highly restricted. The royal court