What is the “Ao Dai” made of? How was it made? How does the “Ao Dai” look like in terms of its size, weight, design, style and decoration?
What does the “Ao Dai” tells us about the physical process of migration and the journey across the seas?
How does the “Ao Dai” represent the people and the culture of Vietnam?
How does the “Ao Dai” relate to the construction of identity and memory as the migrants pass through the borderlands?
How is “Ao Dai” interpreted and used by current society and other migrants?
How is the “Ao Dai” affecting attitudes and relations towards migrants?
Where does this current migration fit within the larger framework of historical movement of people and objects?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Object social/cultural context
The Vietnamese traditional ‘ao dai’ is one of the most important symbols representing the culture of Vietnam. In the past, high school girls worn ‘ao dai’ almost everyday to classes. Today, ‘Ao dai’ has become a standard for many office workers and staff members to wear as uniform and in special occasions. Furthermore, not only ‘ao dai’ reflecting the beauty and gracefulness of this dress and the image of Vietnam to the world, Vietnamese women are proud to of the heritage when they wear them.
The first ‘Ao Dai’ was originated from the 18th century where the Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat of Hue announced that both men and women at his court needed to dress up in trousers and gown with buttons down the front. ‘Ao Dai’ has been invented to satisfy such needs. People called the dress as “ao dai” because according to Vietnamese language, ‘Ao Dai’ means long shirt. However, in the 19th century, ‘Ao tu than’ was the youngest version of ‘ao dai’ in which it had two flaps sewn together in the back, two flaps sewn together in the front, and a “baby flap” hidden underneath the main front flap. By 1930, a Hanoi designer named Cat Tuong first introduced “Ao Dai” to the public that was inspired by “Ao Tu Than” and Paris fashion. Until 1950, Saigon designers started to make the gown fitted to the women body like the way we see in the modern Ao Dai.
One of the most important features of Ao Dai is its color. Although Ao Dai comes in many different styles, the color of them tells people about the wearer’s age and social status. Young girls would wear white as a typical school uniform representing their youth and purity. Older or unmarried women would wear soft shades such as violet, pink, blue, yellow and so forth. Younger girls can also wear these colors to special occasions such as celebrating national independent day, Memorial Day and so forth. Women on their day of marriage would wear pink or red because the colors represent luck and propensity. Married women would wear ‘ao dai’ in strong, vibrant colors and usually paired up with white or black pants.
The first ‘Ao Dai’ was originated from the 18th century where the Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat of Hue announced that both men and women at his court needed to dress up in trousers and gown with buttons down the front. ‘Ao Dai’ has been invented to satisfy such needs. People called the dress as “ao dai” because according to Vietnamese language, ‘Ao Dai’ means long shirt. However, in the 19th century, ‘Ao tu than’ was the youngest version of ‘ao dai’ in which it had two flaps sewn together in the back, two flaps sewn together in the front, and a “baby flap” hidden underneath the main front flap. By 1930, a Hanoi designer named Cat Tuong first introduced “Ao Dai” to the public that was inspired by “Ao Tu Than” and Paris fashion. Until 1950, Saigon designers started to make the gown fitted to the women body like the way we see in the modern Ao Dai.
One of the most important features of Ao Dai is its color. Although Ao Dai comes in many different styles, the color of them tells people about the wearer’s age and social status. Young girls would wear white as a typical school uniform representing their youth and purity. Older or unmarried women would wear soft shades such as violet, pink, blue, yellow and so forth. Younger girls can also wear these colors to special occasions such as celebrating national independent day, Memorial Day and so forth. Women on their day of marriage would wear pink or red because the colors represent luck and propensity. Married women would wear ‘ao dai’ in strong, vibrant colors and usually paired up with white or black pants.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Object Historical Context
When I was ten years old, my mother asked me to help her folding clothes. After folding all of her clothes, I put them into the drawers. Because there was not enough space, I had to look for another place to store my mother's clothes. There, I thought of her 'secret' closet. I slowly searched for a place to put the clothes, but it seemed like all the empty spaces had been filled. One thing I noticed was at the corner of the closet there was one drawer that had nothing inside but a pink dress. I remembered about my mother talking about her special pink dress before and a thought came to my mind, was it the pink dress that she was talking about? My mother once told me that the dress should be kept in a very special place and no one should be allowed to see or touch it. This was a very special dress for her because it was the only thing that she kept for herself since her childhood. To my mother, the dress is not just a dress, it is a part of her life story. My mother was born in Hanoi Vietnam, as a child she lived with her aunt for almost eight and half years. For most of her childhood, she was raised and grew up with her aunt. Even though the war between the north and south Vietnam has been stopped a while ago, my mother could not reunite with her real family because they had left to another city. Her aunt was the only relative that my mother had.
That night, I thought about my mother's story and how she had the dress as a gift from her aunt who passed away few years ago. The pink dress was originally owned by my mother's aunt to whom I called grandmother. My mother told me that my grandmother gave her the dress when she left to another city for attending university. From that time, my mother carried the dress with her everywhere she went. She wore the dress on her first day entering the university; she wore it on her graduation day and the day she got her first job and her day of marriage. For the most parts, my mother believed that the dress has given her luck and full of blessing because it reminds her of her childhood living peacefully with her aunt to whom she loves very much. My mother told me that every time when she wore the dress, she felt that there was some kind of magical feeling attached to it for no longer it was just a dress. But it was like the warmth and pleasant that she felt wrapping around her.
At age of ten, that was all I knew about the dress. Until the time when I was twelve years old, I decided to go to Canada for studying. The day before I left my home, my mother helped me to pack, she could not say a thing because deep down from her heart, she knew that she was going to miss me a lot. But because of my future, she had to let me go. It was a very emotional experience for both of me and my mother to whom I love very much. That night, before I went to sleep, she came to my room and gave me a small package. She handed it to me and told me to open it. I opened the package and saw the pink dress that I was secretly saw two years ago. My mother slowly said to me, “Well Ly, I guessed that it is a right time for you to have this dress especially you are going to be away for a while. Just remember to carry the dress with you everywhere you go and wear it on your important days. It will bring you luck.” I could not say a word because I was too emotional. So I waited for my mother continue with her talking. She slowly told me, “Well you know that this dress was once belong to your grandmother then to me and now to you. Your grandmother had kept the dress as one of her most precious things. Have I ever told you about your grandmother's story?” I replied “No, you have never”. My mother continually her talk, “your grandmother loved this dress very much. It was a gift from her boyfriend many many years ago. He gave it to her so that they could wear the dress on their wedding day. The day before he went to join the military, he told your grandmother to wait for him return and get marry. Well I guess your grandmother had waited for all her life and never had a chance to wear this dress” My mother hesitated for a moment then she started to talk, “Well it was because he never came back, perhaps he had died during the war. But your grandmother believes that he still here alive and always be. She still hopes and wait for his return until the day she passed away” My mother handed the dress to me and said, “ I know it was the sad story and I don't mean to say all of this to make you sad; nonetheless, it is because I want you to know how much the dress meant to your grandmother and to me. The story might be sad but you know that the dress live with your grandmother every step she goes. It is neither a gift nor a dress; it is her past and her future. It is her belief that one day she will see her the man that she loves and they will live happily ever after. I want you to have this dress because I want you to know that life is constantly changing and on your journey, you might find many difficulties, many unpleasant experience. But you have to remember that everything will be fine in the end. May the dress bring you luck, Ly.”
I brought the dress with me every where I go and think of it as my charming object. I wear the dress on my first day coming to Canada. When I first came to live in the home-stay, everyone was very curious about my dress and they were asking me what dress I was wearing. I proudly told them that it was my national custom. For the last ten years living in Canada, I hold the dress as my one and only treasure. It was the most precious thing to me. I wore the dress on all of my important days celebrating my small success in life. One time, I wore the dress to the Vietnamese festival that took
place in Toronto. And this was the first time wearing the dress gave me a different type of experience. That day, I noticed that I was the only one who wear the national dress in the place. Then I started to feel that people looked at me differently and they started to act really weird on me. They would pretend that they did not want to talk to me or they were interested in something else. I tried to convince myself that I am not the only one who felt that way and perhaps somewhere in the party, someone would feel the same. I decided to stay at the corner of the room and hoped that the party is soon going to end. When I got home, I called my best friend and told her my story and how I felt extremely awkward during the party. My friend explained to me, “Well, it was not you but the dress that you are wearing. It was inappropriate for a place like that.” I started to be more confused, “I thought Canada is a place for freedom and the fact that I am wearing this dress is my freedom, isn't it?” My friend slowly told me “half true and half is not. It is great that you are wearing the dress that representing your culture. People from other countries would appreciate that very much. But you know that, for some of political reasons, the north and the south community live in Toronto has not gotten along very well. A dress is no longer a garment that you are wearing. Rather, it is a political statement that you send across. By wearing such dress, it said you came from the north which makes people thinking of you as a communist”
Today, I still wear my traditional dress and proud to have it. Things have changed as people start to accept its presence.
That night, I thought about my mother's story and how she had the dress as a gift from her aunt who passed away few years ago. The pink dress was originally owned by my mother's aunt to whom I called grandmother. My mother told me that my grandmother gave her the dress when she left to another city for attending university. From that time, my mother carried the dress with her everywhere she went. She wore the dress on her first day entering the university; she wore it on her graduation day and the day she got her first job and her day of marriage. For the most parts, my mother believed that the dress has given her luck and full of blessing because it reminds her of her childhood living peacefully with her aunt to whom she loves very much. My mother told me that every time when she wore the dress, she felt that there was some kind of magical feeling attached to it for no longer it was just a dress. But it was like the warmth and pleasant that she felt wrapping around her.
At age of ten, that was all I knew about the dress. Until the time when I was twelve years old, I decided to go to Canada for studying. The day before I left my home, my mother helped me to pack, she could not say a thing because deep down from her heart, she knew that she was going to miss me a lot. But because of my future, she had to let me go. It was a very emotional experience for both of me and my mother to whom I love very much. That night, before I went to sleep, she came to my room and gave me a small package. She handed it to me and told me to open it. I opened the package and saw the pink dress that I was secretly saw two years ago. My mother slowly said to me, “Well Ly, I guessed that it is a right time for you to have this dress especially you are going to be away for a while. Just remember to carry the dress with you everywhere you go and wear it on your important days. It will bring you luck.” I could not say a word because I was too emotional. So I waited for my mother continue with her talking. She slowly told me, “Well you know that this dress was once belong to your grandmother then to me and now to you. Your grandmother had kept the dress as one of her most precious things. Have I ever told you about your grandmother's story?” I replied “No, you have never”. My mother continually her talk, “your grandmother loved this dress very much. It was a gift from her boyfriend many many years ago. He gave it to her so that they could wear the dress on their wedding day. The day before he went to join the military, he told your grandmother to wait for him return and get marry. Well I guess your grandmother had waited for all her life and never had a chance to wear this dress” My mother hesitated for a moment then she started to talk, “Well it was because he never came back, perhaps he had died during the war. But your grandmother believes that he still here alive and always be. She still hopes and wait for his return until the day she passed away” My mother handed the dress to me and said, “ I know it was the sad story and I don't mean to say all of this to make you sad; nonetheless, it is because I want you to know how much the dress meant to your grandmother and to me. The story might be sad but you know that the dress live with your grandmother every step she goes. It is neither a gift nor a dress; it is her past and her future. It is her belief that one day she will see her the man that she loves and they will live happily ever after. I want you to have this dress because I want you to know that life is constantly changing and on your journey, you might find many difficulties, many unpleasant experience. But you have to remember that everything will be fine in the end. May the dress bring you luck, Ly.”
I brought the dress with me every where I go and think of it as my charming object. I wear the dress on my first day coming to Canada. When I first came to live in the home-stay, everyone was very curious about my dress and they were asking me what dress I was wearing. I proudly told them that it was my national custom. For the last ten years living in Canada, I hold the dress as my one and only treasure. It was the most precious thing to me. I wore the dress on all of my important days celebrating my small success in life. One time, I wore the dress to the Vietnamese festival that took
place in Toronto. And this was the first time wearing the dress gave me a different type of experience. That day, I noticed that I was the only one who wear the national dress in the place. Then I started to feel that people looked at me differently and they started to act really weird on me. They would pretend that they did not want to talk to me or they were interested in something else. I tried to convince myself that I am not the only one who felt that way and perhaps somewhere in the party, someone would feel the same. I decided to stay at the corner of the room and hoped that the party is soon going to end. When I got home, I called my best friend and told her my story and how I felt extremely awkward during the party. My friend explained to me, “Well, it was not you but the dress that you are wearing. It was inappropriate for a place like that.” I started to be more confused, “I thought Canada is a place for freedom and the fact that I am wearing this dress is my freedom, isn't it?” My friend slowly told me “half true and half is not. It is great that you are wearing the dress that representing your culture. People from other countries would appreciate that very much. But you know that, for some of political reasons, the north and the south community live in Toronto has not gotten along very well. A dress is no longer a garment that you are wearing. Rather, it is a political statement that you send across. By wearing such dress, it said you came from the north which makes people thinking of you as a communist”
Today, I still wear my traditional dress and proud to have it. Things have changed as people start to accept its presence.
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