Page 280 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

front of the top garment can be embroidered with a design of a few flowers or even the fingers
of the hand. The hem, wristband, flap of the pocket and neckline, all have fringes. Embroidery
patterns are added to the hem of the top and four corners of the front and the back of the top.
The shoulders are seamless or cut on the bias. On holidays, women often wear long dresses
in delicate shades of color.
The formerly popular cotton-padded jackets in the North and the North Central region are
now only worn by the elderly. In the North, few women wear head-scarves. The seniors tie their
hair in a bun. The youngsters have their hair permed or trimmed or cut short or let their hair
loose.
Áo cánh or áo bà ba are still favored by Central region women in daily work. On special
occasions, they wear long dresses and tie their hair in a bun or roll their hair up without
headscarves. Young women in the country still dress in shirts of different colors.
In the South, traditional dress styles continue to survive with bà ba garments, hair buns and
bandana head-scarves. On ceremonial occasions or holidays, women still dress in old-
fashioned long dresses.

In the North, the senior female peasants wear head-scarves, brown shirts and black
trousers in everyday work. At New Year’s Festival, they are dressed in white, blue, pink or
warm red cánh shirts. The garments for the young women include shirts and pants made of
silk, satin, phíp or black ta tăng material. They tie their hair back neatly. On festival days, they
wear shirts of many designs, colors and made from fine fabrics. In general, young women in
the three main regions across the country have begun to try Western clothes, or long dresses
with elegant shades of color.

Men’s costumes

After the August Revolution, the men in the cities quickly adopted a Western fashion of
dressing. In rural areas however, major changes in men’s costumes took much more time.
After the resistance war against the French, cultural exchanges between the cities and the
country developed and encouraged changes in country attire. Many young men in the rural
areas began to wear Western shirts and trousers, while many local officials born in the cities
changed to brown clothes so that they could get on well with the village people. During this
time, the North was famous for padded waistcoats worn by both soldiers and common
people. At the same time, the people of the Central region widely used rubber sandals and
palm hats.
In the North, since 1954, the loose khaki shirts with four pockets on the outside have
prevailed. The shirt was developed from the famous Tôn Trung Sơn’s shirt in China. In the
summer, people prefer seamless, loose-fitting shirts with short sleeves, and double lapels.
They wear the hem of the shirt outside the trousers in the summer.
In winter, they wear a deep violet khaki shirt with two slanting pockets over a cotton shirt with
square stitched designs, which suited the people’s lifestyle during wartime. After a couple of
days wear, they can be easily washed. Sandals were made from tyres and car tubes and were
very cheap which added to their popularity.