Collection of Ao Yem Vietnam - Part I

Published: 11:55 Friday - September 09, 2011

Ao Yem Vietnam - one of Vietnamese traditional clothes, became one part of Vietnamese women life in the past. Long time has passed but Ao Yem beauty is forever in Vietnam culture.

Collection of Ao Yem Vietnam - Vietnam traditional clothes

Tourists in Vietnam travel want to understand more about Vietnam culture will be very impressed by Vietnam traditional clothes, especially Ao Yem.

Ao yem is a simple garment with many variations forms. Its basic form is a simple with a diamond or square-cut piece of cloth draped over a woman’s chest with strings to tie at the neck and back.

Ao Yem is made from the various materials. It has a lot of colors based on person’s rank and the occasion. In daily days, the women usually wore black or white Ao Yem but in the special occasions, brighter colors as red and pink could be chose. Indeed, the charming of the women in their “Yem Dao” has created the inspiration for many Vietnamese poets.

The bottom of most Ao Yem are v-shaped, there are different styles for the top of the garment, “Yếm cổ xây”, or the deep v-shaped neck style, called “Yếm cổ sẻ” is the most popular. “Yếm đeo bùa” is another type of Yem has a little pocket within, where women often use to store a little musk or perfume.

Its origin is not sure, although many people said that it originated from the China, since in ancient China had a similar garment. The Ao Yem has existed since at least 12^th century it is an essential part of the áo tứ thân costume worn by northern Vietnamese women. Different from other Vietnamese costumes in feudalistic Vietnam, áo yếm were worn as an undergarment by Vietnamese women in daily life, from peasant women toiling in the fields to imperial consorts.