Traditional long dress for men are being revived thanks to the enthusiasm of a club in Hà Nội. Unlike women’s traditional long dress, the men’s version has experienced various ups and downs. Lê Hương & Hồng Vân explore.

Carefully wrapping a black turban on his friend’s head, Chu Đức Giang is helping his friend take a trip back in time.

With the sun shining as bright as the clothes Giang and his friend wear, these two young men are keeping a tradition alive through the robes on their backs.

They spent a Sunday morning joining other members of the Traditional Long Dress for Men’s Club to tour the Literature Temple and the Imperial Academy, the first university of Việt Nam built in 11th century in downtown Hà Nội.

The men’s group wear áo dài (traditional long dress) and during their tour, pause from time to time to lend a listening ear to the guide.

Although they may look like they have arrived from days gone by, their ancient appearance is given a modern twist as many reach for their cell phones to take a selfie or two.

The newly established club, a smaller group of Đình Làng Việt (Vietnamese Communal Houses), which is keen on preserving the ancient values of communal houses, sometimes organises such an event to encourage members to wear áo dài.

As well as drawing many a curious glance from foreign tourists, they hope their clothing with see other men follow suit.

“As a member of Đình Làng Việt group, I joined most of its activities including Tết Việt (Vietnamese traditional Lunar New Year) event at So Village on the outskirts of Hà Nội. At the first event three years ago, I rented an áo dài. Then I got one tailored. Recently, another club member Hoàng Dương and I designed a collection of áo dài titled ‘Now and Then’ of items with traditional features adequately changed to suit modern times,” Giang told Việt Nam News.

As a young man who loves traditional culture, Giang feels proud whenever he wears áo dài.

“I think áo dài is not only beautiful in aesthetic but also in moral standards. When wearing it, I feel more mature and tend to be more careful in my behaviour. The costume makes me Mr Right in the traditional standard. It is a heritage from our ancestors,” he said.

Giang added that some details from the traditional design were changed to suit today’s youth such as smaller sleeves, smaller hems for pants and various modern materials such as linen, tweed and even jeans.

New year: Members of the group wear áo dài at Tết Việt (Traditional Lunar New Year) event at So Communal House on February 10. VNS Photo Nguyễn Lê Hòang

According to Nguyễn Đức Bình, chairman of the club, there are too many changes in modern áo dài that make it alien and increasingly like traditional costumes of other countries.

“Our club promotes traditional dress in original design with five flaps. We want all those who like to wear and possess the traditional dress can join our activities. So, the number of members is flexible and can mount up to dozens mostly around Hà Nội,” he said.

Appearing in most of the Đình Làng Việt’s events, Assistant to Minister for Foreign Affairs Phạm Sanh Châu could not hide his pride in áo dài.

“I normally wear áo dài in diplomatic events outside the country,” he said.

“I feel that it makes me quite different from others and it helps to single me out as a representative of Việt Nam. At our diplomatic activities, we are sometimes obliged to wear traditional dress as a requirement to be able to attend a big gathering.”

He recalled the time he was in Belgium, whenever he had an opportunity to meet the King, he wore áo dài. And the following day, he became front page news.

“Because people like to take pictures of those who are quite different from others. I feel that this is also a way to promote Việt Nam and stress the identity of the Vietnamese people,” he added.

Up and down history

According to researcher Nguyễn Xuân Hoa, long dress for men appeared in the early reigns of the Lý (1009-1225), Trần (1226-1400) and Lê (1428-1527) dynasties, and that was called Giao Lĩnh style.

The áo dài as we see today originated from the era of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (1714-1765).

In 1744, when he came to the throne in Phú Xuân, he issued a decree to define costumes of men and women of all walks of life for Đàng Trong (central and southern of today’s Việt Nam) area.

“The Nguyễn Dynasty had restricted regulations in áo dài costumes for royal members and ordinary people,” said researcher Đoàn Thị Tình specialising in Vietnamese costumes.

The long dress for men had a basic design with a straight neck and five flaps of five cloth pieces running along the body: two in front, two in the back and one shorter layer under the two front flaps.

The two layers join each other by a row of five buttons running from the neck to under the arms.

The typical layout was the result of a small loom of cloth weavers at that time. The width of each cloth was not more than 40cm.

Depending on the social status or the situation of the wearer, the five-flap long dress would have small differences in materials, styles or colours.

“That’s why áo dài is a silent introduction of the wearer,” she said.

“Looking at it, one would have certain judgements about the wearers. In the feudal time, people had a rule that when receiving guests at home, the owners would wear áo dài. They always wear double áo dài. The inner must be white, silk for the rich and cotton for the poor.”