Page 272 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

lower part of the trousers flare outward. They rarely wore black trousers. Senior women often
combed their long hair up and twisted it into a bun at the back of the head. Young women often
tied their hair at the back, or let it loose on the shoulder.
Women in the region lying between the North and the Center typically wore thượng hats. It
was called a thượng hat because it was native to Việt Yên Thượng village, Đức Thọ District, Hà
Tây Province. The shape and design of the thượng hat was similar to the nón ba tầm in the
North. It was 70 centimeters in diameter. Thượng hats worn on holidays or at festivals had
particularly sophisticated straps.

Women in the South wore white bà ba shirts. They wore tunics covering the black silk
trousers. Rich women wore many tunics. The innermost tunic was the longest and the outer
tunics were shorter so that the colors of different dresses were all exposed. They tied their hair
in a bun at the back with a gold brooch, or two small curved combs securing the hair on the
two sides of the bun. Yellow beads were wound several times around the neck and allowed to
hang down to the chest. They also wore a kind of armpit necklace that was wound over the
neck passing through the armpit. They wore ngù wooden shoes with wooden soles. Some
people wore vân hài or leather shoes. They often carried umbrellas, the handles of which
were carved, inlayed with silver or nacre. They wore cụ hats with flat tops, small diameter and
thick edges.
In the early years of the 20 century, country costumes of the three main Vietnamese
th
regions still retained many of the tradition features, but costumes of women in the city were
subject to many changes. Women typically wore long dresses with round collars which were
one centimeter high. The sleeves narrowed to the wrist. The wristband had a three-centimeter
slit. When worn, the slit was closed with a press-stud to fit the wrist. The hem of the dress was
10-20 centimeter above the ground. Sài Gòn women’s dress panel was often shorter. The
dress was buttoned under the arm. The collar could be undone and thus, it was called open
collar. However, women in Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên, HuếCity and the South typically buttoned
their collars tightly.

Women in Hanoi gradually developed the practice of wearing black trousers made of silk,
raw silk or satin, or white trousers made of silk or flax like women in the South. Women in the
North characteristically wrapped black velvet headscarves, exposing a small strand like the tail
of a cock.
Women in the Central region wore their hair in a bun on the top, at the back, or at the nape of
the neck. Women in Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên, Huế often parted their hair in the middle and
rolled their hair without headscarves.

Women in the South wore their hair in a bun nearly up to the top or at the back of the head,
but not down at the nape of the neck. A strand of the hair hung down from the bun like the tail
of a cock. Some of the women flattened the strand in the shape of a visor covering the nape of
the neck. The bun was secured with a brooch of porcupine quill, bone, ivory, tortoise shell and
gold. The hair was regularly combed and rubbed with coconut oil to be strong and shiny.
Young ladies grew their hair long, arranged their hair with a fringe on the forehead secured
with a comb. The long hair was loose on the shoulder, or was tied neatly at the back. Gold
necklaces were often worn which were wound several times around the neck, or hung down at