-^-for posterity-^-

traditional vietnamese dress is still worn. the ao dai.

the ao dai is a type of dress worn by the women of vietnam. most of the girls wear it to class and, if you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing one in action, it’s a most seductive sight.

the girls are clad head to toe in cloth. the cloth that the students wear is a white, patterned variety. teachers wear whatever pattern they well please. the bottom half is a pair of loose fitting pants. they are not unlike normal pants. they are loose and wave happily in the wind. the top is something else entirely.

the collar is high and stretches up to the jawbone. it is straight and holds its place. it has a small, v-like cut in the middle. the cut doesn’t drop more than the length of the collar. the sleeves extend to the wrists. the front and back of the top part seem to flow forever. they are long strands of cloth that fall below the knees. the cloth is wide and square. it flows in front and in back like banners. the sides are sliced up to the top of the waist. two separate pieces of cloth lead and follow the wearer.

i have no idea why it is so spellbinding. i have no idea why it captures the imagination so. when girls ride bicycles they have to sit on the back half of the top part and hold the front part of the top half in their right or left hand.

it is only a pair of pants and a shirt but it is vietnam. it defines so much. it is conservative yet flashy. the girls are quite yet proud. nothing seems to make sense and all is lost in a complex wave of cloth.