Ao Dai Fashion

Contest for beauties to be held in the land of tea

Contest for beauties to be held in the land of tea

THAI NGUYEN — A Beauty Contest in the Land of Tea will be held in the northern province of Thai Nguyen in the framework of the first International Tea Festival taking place on November 5-15.

The contest will apply similar regulations to Miss Viet Nam, but support contestants only from cities and provinces where tea is grown and traded.

The candidates will participate in ao dai (traditional robe) and swimsuit displays, and express their knowledge of tea culture and the tea regions. The organising board will also present prizes for the contestant who brews tea most excellently and who picks tea leaves most quickly.

The winner will be responsible for social work and promoting Vietnamese tea products and culture.

Dep Fashion Show to recruit models in the big City

HCM CITY – As many as 100 models will be recruited for this year's Dep Fashion Show, with the theme of Passion, in October. Ten designers will display more than 200 outfits at this event.

This is the first time in the eight-year history of the event that organisers fromthe Dep (Beauty) magazine in collaboration with Le Media and Le&Brothers companies have held a model recruitment drive for the show.

The fashion show is the first Vietnamese event to be broadcast on the popular Fashion TV channel. It's was also honoured at the Asian Fashion Awards.

Since its inception in 2004, the event has gathered, discovered and promoted a number of gifted Vietnamese designers in the fashion industry.

Twins to show the art of creating, mixing cocktails

HCM CITY — Famous twin mixologists Dannie and Ben Sorum will present the art of creating and preparing cocktails in HCM City on August 10-14 at the Sheraton Sai Gon Hotel and Towers.

During their visit, the duo will introduce their most famous concoctions at Mojo Cafe and Level 23, as well as conduct interactive classes showcasing the latest international trends.

The Sorum brothers are partners and executive directors of Flow Cocktail Ltd, which is based in Bangkok. They have conducted cocktail events and workshops worldwide.

This is their second visit to HCM City together. Dannie Sorum has visited the country twice earlier.

Ao Dai- Vietnamese Long Dress | Vietnam Travel

After 1975, the Ao Dai was rarely seen because many considered it to be an excess inappropriate for hard work. However, since the 1990s, the Ao Dai has seen a resurgence both in Vietnam and for overseas Vietnamese.

There is also a male version of the Ao Dai, which is worn less today, except in ceremonies like weddings, funerals, or other “traditional” occasions. Men’s Ao Dai’s, in contrast to women’s, fit very loosely.

Original Ao Dai

The first style of Ao Dai tended to be much looser fitting in general, with more flowing, longer and bigger sleeves. Royal patterns and colors were common, and commoners were restricted from wearing them.

The Royal Wedding Ao Dai: Ao Menh Phu

Besides the multitudes of fabrics, designs and patterns one can use for the Ao Dai, some versions perhaps also connect to the Northern peasant Vietnamese dress called Ao Tu Than. In this version there is often a flowing outer jacket (with large belled sleeves) as well as two extra flaps (making a 4 flapped dress, as opposed to the typical Ao Dai’s 2 flaps).

The 4 flapped Ao Dai is commonly worn for weddings and is known as Ao Menh Phu. There are countless varieties of Wedding and royal court attire, but the most common similarity they share would be the 4 (or even more) flaps. Wedding attire typically is in brighter colors like red or pink (for women).

The modern costume and its place in modern-day Vietnam

The most popular style of the modern Ao Dai is tight-fitting around the wearer’s upper torso, emphasizing her bust and curves. For this reason, the Ao Dai, while it covers the whole body, is said to be provocative, especially when it is made of thin or see-through fabric. More adventurous versions of the modern Ao Dai are even collarless.

The first, more “modern” version of the Ao Dai did not appear until 1930, when Vietnamese fashion designer Cat Tuong, known to the French as Monsieur Le Mur, modified it. He lengthened the Ao Dai so that the top reached the floor, made it fit the curves of the body closer and moved the buttons from the front to an opening along the shoulder and side seam.

In Saigon during the 1950s, Tran Kim of Thiet Lap Tailors and Dung of Dung Tailors modified the Ao Dai to a form closest to what is seen today.

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