VietNamNet Bridge – Many ready-to-wear brands in HCM City are offering ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) in different styles and patterns, satisfying young women who want beautiful outfits for Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. “I want to be charming for visits to my relatives and friends and for photos during Tet. An ao dai is always my best choice,” said Tran Ngoc Bao Chau, who works and lives in Singapore. Chau asked a friend in HCM City to buy her an ao dai. “I’ll return to Vietnam on December 28 of Lunar New Year (February 13). It’s too late for shopping,” said the 31-year-old Chau, adding that ready-to-wear clothes were her only choice. Chau spent several days looking for hundreds of items on Facebook of ready-to-wear shops in HCM City. Finally, she chose a brocade ao dai in pink with images of peonies from Ha Cuc, a brand which is famous among young people and celebrities. The set of ao dai and a pair of silk trousers cost VND2.5 million (US$110). “For overseas or busy people, ready-to-wear ao dai is very convenient, while tailor-made clothes take at least 10 days to make,” Chau said. This year, Ha Cuc offers six designs of brocade ao dai in pastel pink, fuchsia, red, pastel blue, black and white, printed with images of squirrels, cranes, orchids, peony or chrysanthemums. According to a saleswoman at Ha Cuc store in HCM City, their ao dai are made of high-quality fabrics with elegant patterns, loved by… [Read full story]
Vietnamese people are proud of their traditional attire, an Ao dai with a turban, not unlike the Japanese with their kimono and the French with their smart suit. The combo of Ao dai and turban make the wearer look serious and elegant and it is usually worn at festivals and ceremonies. Vietnamese people are proud of their traditional attire, an Ao dai with a turban, not unlike the Japanese with their kimono and the French with their smart suit. The combo of Ao dai and turban make the wearer look serious and elegant and it is usually worn at festivals…... [read more]
by Nguyen My Ha In a fast-changing society like Viet Nam today, what best represents the Vietnamese identity? The language? A bowl of pho? A conical hat? If you only speak Vietnamese, people who do not speak the language cannot understand you. Having a bowl of pho has become much easier now, not only in Viet Nam but across the world. Some restaurants do not even have Vietnamese owners. Outside Viet Nam, the conical hat represents the country's farmers, devastated by war and its consequences. Very few people actually wear them. For me, the most representative image of Viet Nam…... [read more]
Designer Si Hoang, in collaboration with Me Yeu Be (Mom Love Baby) magazine and VietGen Communication Corp. will hold an ao dai drawing contest for children on the occasion of International children's Day (June 1).The contest aims to create a playground for children from the age of four to ten on International Children's Day, to help them understand the traditional culture of Vietnam.The one day contest will be held on June 1 in the Reunification Palace in HCMC for two groups of children from four to six years old and from seven to 10 years old. The children will be…... [read more]
Though living in Japan, Tong Thi Kim Dinh always remained keen on the traditional culture of her native land of Vietnam. For her, the national dress of the Vietnamese ladies or Ao dai is part of the country’s cultural identity. Seeing Japanese ladies passing by in their beautiful kimonos, Kim Dinh nurtured a dream that one day the Vietnamese traditional Ao dai would become a fashion in Japan, the cradle of the Kimono, and other beautiful and luxurious places worldwide. Well, where there is a will, there is a way, and her efforts paid off. Finally Kim Dinh found a…... [read more]
With her Shop Viet Nam, where the Vietnamese traditional dresses of Ao Dai are on sale, in a 51 storey-building of Sumitomo Group in Shinuku Center, Tokyo, Tong Thi Kim Dinh (Ms) helps to honor Ao Dai in one of the largest and most modern cities in the world. Born in the ancient capital of Hue, Dinh, now 45, came to Japan with her husband after graduating Hue Medical University in 1987. Living in Japan, she always wished that one day Ao Dai would be presented in Tokyo and Shop Viet Nam was a dream that she pursued for more…... [read more]
