Page 268 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

lined with white silk inside. The border of the robe was woven with patterns of the sun, moon,
stars, clouds, mountains, and dragons. The panel was woven with dragons, clouds, and
waves. On the sleeves were the designs of crouching dragons. Under the robe there was
another unlined white garment, with the sleeve decorated with woven dragons and clouds.
The outer coat was made of golden gauze, lined with brocade, embroidered with a flame
design, rice dots, “a” shape and hammer head shape. Attached to this coat were gem
ornaments, musical stones, mica, coral, and tortoise-shell. This produced sound in
movement. The brooches were often made of gems, inlaid with pearl dragon designs, while
the waistband was made of leather and covered with golden silk. A square piece of white
precious stone was attached in the middle and surrounded by 6 white diamond-shaped
gems, 392 beads of gold-covered precious stones, with 6 buttonholes to attach to the robe.
Fine black silk covered the shoes which were also lined with red silk. The shoes were
decorated with dragons and clouds and decorated with gems and diamonds.

When giving a grand audience, the King wore a cap embroidered with 9 dragons ascending
into the sky, with 31 smaller gold dragon shapes attached, 3 woven designs of burning
flames. The cap was adorned with gems, diamonds, and 140 pearls. The eyes of the dragons
were inlaid with small pearls.
The imperial robe was made of golden gauze and fine silk, woven with patterns of big and
small dragons, clouds, waves, and 4 ideograms meaning “thousand blessings and long life”.
The robe was lined with thick gauze with floral embroidery. The collar was made of fine white
silk, with a design of dragons, naming pomegranates, and corals made of smaller gems. The
two sleeves were made of dark blue fine silk, with the 4-ideogram inscription and a 3-dragon
design.
There was a coat of thin white gauze to cover the robe, decorated with red floral designs,
woven in the shape of a curled up dragon, waves, antique desk (for flower pot decorations),
eight precious items (such as books, swords, flutes, wine gourds, poem bags, etc.) The
waistband was of gold, patterned in 18 stripes in square or shield shape, made of rhino horn
and covered with gold and inlaid with 92 pearl beads. The shoes were black, embroidered
with designs of dragons, clouds, waves, and flowers, and lined with red silk inside. Socks
were worn, the upper part dark blue, the lower embroidered with dragons, clouds, waves,
palindrome of gold lame patterns.

The King’s costume at a normal King’s audience was simpler. He wore a “9-dragon” cap,
golden-gauze court robe on which there were patterns of curled up dragons, eight precious
items, waves. The dragons’ eyes were inlaid with black amber, and the golden collar woven
with dragon and cloud designs. The two sleeves had strings of precious stones. The same
coat, shoes and socks were worn as on the great King’s audience. In other religious
ceremonies in spring and autumn, the King would wear caps that were black gauze, attached
with a silver flower design, inlaid with a white bead of crystal. The outer garment was a thin
snow-white gauze woven with dragons, clouds, and wave patterns. It could also be made from
azure gauze, woven with dragon and cloud patterns and lined with fine silk, with 12 deep blue
peony designs.

The coat was thin gauze with small floral designs which came in deep blue, green, or azure.