Crazy for Ao Dais

I've been on the lookout for a perfect ao dai design since I saw Giang (my Vietnamese student) wearing hers during our Ms & Mr TC International event.

In fact, she's gone back to Vietnam 2 weeks ago and I 'tumpang-ed' her to tailor make an ao dai for me. She'll be back in Feb 08 (after her summer hols) and i'm super excited. So much excitement that it's difficult to contain. :P

But in the midst of this busyness, I have managed to forget about my ao dai for a while.

.....Until Friday!!

Sue-Ann came to work wearing an ao dai and Alice was in saree. This is becos they were involved in our one of our programmes' graduation ceremony.

Apa-lah! Now i can't stop wondering about my ao dai (will it turn out nicely? will Giang be able to find one that i'll like? will it look pretty on me?). I've passed Giang some money and she'll help me source for designs. She'll then emails those designs for me to select.

And since I haven't heard from her, I've decided to do a lil search on the net, all in the hope of finding a design that i'll like.

For those of you who wanna know more about the ao dai, you can read below. I got these from various sources on the internet.

"In Vietnam, the ao dai is the traditional dress for women. Developed from Chinese court clothing in the 1930s, this style of clothing went out of fashion in the north in 1954 and in the south in 1975. Recently, however, it has made a comeback and is regaining popularity in the south among schoolgirls and office workers, and is being worn at formal functions. An indication of social standing, the ao dai is worn by women who work as shop assistants or who have a higher social status, while manual workers typically wear a loose top and baggy pants called an ao ba ba.

Pronounced "ao yai" in the south, and "ao zai" in the north, the costume has had a short history relative to the country and people of Vietnam.

The ao dai is considered to be an elegant, yet demure, garment. Traditionally, long, wide- legged trousers are worn under a high-necked, long-sleeved, fitted tunic with slits along each side. The outfit’s pants reach to the soles of the feet, often trailing along the ground. Over time, the dress tunic has evolved, keeping with fashion trends, and has grown shorter and shorter until it now falls just below the knees. The ao dai can also be identified by its mandarin-style or boat-neck collar. Young girls wear only pastel colored or white garments while married women wear either dark or bright tunics over black or white trousers."

Typical plain white áo dài - worn as a uniform for high school girls in Vietnam. Source: Wikipedia

I was browsing through this particular site that specialises in custom made ao dai. And i realised that most of the ao dais that i like are of the white-ish or pastel shades.

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And then...there are bolder colours to try. Decisions decisions!

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Okay okay, minus the hairpiece/hat. :P

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Yeah, no hat too.

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This one resembles a chinese wedding qipao.

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Whereas this one resembles a wedding dress. Doesn't look like an ao dai to me. It's way too modern. I prefer the traditional mandarin-collared ones for my very first ao dai. I might go for a more modern cut later.

Any idea which one i should go for?