Page 267 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

guards. The making and selling of white items were also highly restricted. The royal court
announced that head shaving was allowed only among monks. The common people (and
officials as well) were not allowed to make caps of precious stones or glass.
It was stipulated that the people’s sleeves should be 30cm, which was narrower than the
officials’ sleeves. The people at the border were not allowed to dress in the Northern styles.

Female laborers often wore a kind of bra cut with a collar and fastened at the back but
leaving the arms and shoulders bare. They often wore short skirts tied with a waistband with
the loose ends hanging in front. It was also common for women to wrap a fine silk turban
round their hair. It was considered a mark of respect to loosen the hair when meeting people
of higher rank.

There was nothing notable in male costumes. Men worked bare chested and wore a
loincloth. Wearing bun was still a popular hairstyle.
Under the Lê Dynasty, monks’ clothes were loose and comfortable. The royal court also
established a dressing code for monks in religious ceremonies: superior Buddhist monks
wore green clothing, red frock and cap. First rank and second rank monks wore green
clothing, green frock and cap. People with certificates for Buddhist monks, nuns, and hermits
wore black clothes, blue frock and cap. For normal occasions, monks wore green frocks. First
and second rank monks wore black clothing, while others wore dark gray clothing. In terms of
the statues of Deities, there were also certain rules for the garments, except for the very high
Gods.
Under the Lê Dynasty, some new kinds of headgear were introduced. Men and women in
the countryside wore small caps. There was also a “lotus leaf” cap for both adults and
children. The royal and commoner costumes of this period were not only described in
historical materials, but could also be seen from statues and pictures of this time.

The Nguyễn Dynasty and French colonial rule

The Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945), the last feudal dynasty, was increasingly dependent on
the French colonial power. In the beginning, the dress codes for Kings and royal officials were
meticulously established as in former dynasties and put under control of the Ministry of Rites.
Royal costumes
King Gia Long acceded the throne in 1802. His successors were Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị, Tự
Đức, in a line of 13 successions, the last being Bảo Đại. Dress codes of the Kings and his
royal family members, as well as the costumes of the royal officials on different occasions had
to follow these rules set out below.

For the ceremony in honor of the sky and the earth, the King wore a crown of cylindrical
shape, woven from brass threads and fitted to the King’s head, covered by black silk outside
and lined with red silk inside, with attached calligraphy in gold reading “Long-lived” or “Heaven
and Earth”. The imperial robe was made of shiny blue gauze, with green satin circular collar,
lined with white silk inside. The border of the robe was woven with patterns of the sun, moon,