THAI DRESS - THE BREATH OF HIGHLAND LIFE

Traditional costume is not only imbued with the artistic and historical values of each ethnic group, but also reflects the breath of life, and carries the national identity message of the past to the present.

The Thai in Vietnam are a group of Thai people who migrated from southern China to East Asian countries. Over the years of development, Thai women have built a creative process that contains cultural values with their own unique, novel, and attractive features through their costumes.

"Hand shut, birds dart in the wind

Hand uncover, there goes the floral flutter"

The sweet song that Mrs. Quang Thi Dung sang seemed to bring everyone lost in the peaceful countryside. She is also a special tour guide every time visitors come to this land.

Slice of life through a brocade fabric

Costumes and language are the typical characteristics that are hard to be mistaken for each ethnic group.. Thai dress is closed skirts, tubular in shape, made of four pieces of fabric sewn together. The skirt is divided into three parts: the waistband, the skirt body, and the outskirt, has black indigo color, and is embroidered with simple, or complex brocade patterns, or without embroidery at the bottom of the skirt.

Brocade motifs are embroidered on Thai dress

Photo: Hong Anh

Brocade weaving first meets the needs of many aspects of the life of Thai people: daily life products, or used in weddings, funerals, and religious ceremonies. Thai dress is also a product using brocade patterns and has always been preserved by Thai women for generations. Unique and diverse flora and fauna found only in the highland ethnic areas have become an inspiration and are combined to form sophisticated patterns through the hands of Thai artisans in Nghe An. Moreover, valuable and rare animals as well as pets and livestock are also included in these textile masterpieces in hopes of strength and good things in life

Artisan Dung made instructions on how to embroider brocade patterns

Photo: Hong Anh

Besides the traditional dress, Thai people also combine other accessories such as the Pieu scarves, belts (Xai Huot), other shirts, or earrings (Co Hu),...

Pride of the brocade fabric

In order to maintain and develop their traditional costumes, the Thai people have passed on to their descendants a valuable heritage through the transmission of sewing, teaching how to wear, and wearing these dresses in all activities of daily life.

How to tie the belt

Photo: Hong Anh

The costume is an essential and indispensable cultural element in the unique and recognizable traditional cultural heritage of each ethnic group. Traditional costumes also show the level of farming and agriculture production, showing the harmony of people with the landscape, environment, nature, and society of other ethnic groups… If traditional costumes no longer exist, indigenous people will lose the cultural value, beliefs, spiritual values, and identity of their ethnic group. Therefore, the preservation and promotion of the values of traditional costumes of ethnic minorities are becoming a typical cultural beauty of Thai people.

Thai dresses are left to dry in the sun after being washed carefully

Photo: Hong Anh

When going to work, Thai women want to feel comfortable and convenient so they often remove their belts to move faster and easier. With every step they take, the slow and graceful walking pace in the dress reflects the pace of life and work here - a sense of serenity but also full of excitement.

Thai dresses are always worn by women in daily life

Photo by: Luong Hoang

Video: Fruiti World

Today, despite receiving many types of folk costumes with diverse colors of life, for Thai people, the original cultural features are still the flow in the human soul. Preserving, promoting, and developing Thai ethnic traditions is still the affection and responsibility of every Thai community in the Northwest. That is truly the beauty and the charm of Thai people in life today and in the future.

Young generation still wants to preserve and develop the beauty of their nation's traditional costumes. Especially with Gen Z when living in the 4.0 era. Let's see the beauty of THAI dress

Video: Fruiti World

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Buttons on the shirt are not the usual buttons we often see every day, but are made of silver and have the shape of a butterfly. The buttons on the shirt are divided into two symmetrical sides and one side is a row of female butterflies, and one side is a row of male butterflies. Unmarried Thai girls will wear a shirt with odd buttons, while married people will wear a shirt with even buttons.

► In addition, the Thai people also have the custom for the bride to wear a robe with gold lumps as a dowry when she returns to her husband's house. Especially when people get old and die, they must wear a camisole and ao dai.

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In your opinion, what things help Thai people to keep their tradtional customes to this day?

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• Demand for traditional custumes is high
• The number of artists who are passionate about the professio
• Price
• Other