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Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:08 pm  |
My best friend is going to get married this summer. Her parents come from Saigon, Vietnam and traditionally she's going to wear her special Vietnamese wedding dress, a fancy version of Ao Dai ( pronounced "ao yai").
And I'm going to be her bridesmaid, so I have the chance to wear this gorgeous style of dress. Going with her to the special Vietnamese Dress Shops, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of these Ao Dai. I spent hours after hours trying on so many of them.
Ao Dai is so beautiful, so sensual, so girlly. It covers you totally yet it lets your beautiful figure be seen and admired in such a feminine way that I can't find any word to describe.
My friend, Tammy, told me that in one of the articles about Ao Dai from the international journalists who come back from a visit to Vietnam said that:" Every man will fall in love with Ao Dai and every woman will love to have one if they ever see one." It's the truth to me. I love it so much. I wish they will come in a more "street wise" version so I can wear one to work.
It always come in a two-piece set, a tunic and a pair of pants, the tunic has side slits started from your waist and can be either very long down to your ankle or just stopped short below your knees, the pants can be very wide or narrow, straight of flare. And the fabric most used is silk, custom painted, embroidered in all the hues of the rainbow.
Everybody can wear Ao Dai, from toddlers to great grand mothers.
And guess what, Tammy is planning to have one Ao Dai made for every single female member of her future in law family to wear to the wedding. They are from Sweden and they are so thrilled to come to the fitting. Especially the mother of the groom, she was in tears wearing the beautiful regal gold silk Vietnamese dress, saying she felt like a Vietnamese Queen. I feel the same way too, like a Princess.
And as a beauty junkie, you must try one on whenever you get a chance. If you'd like to know more about these Vietnamese dresses, type " ao dai" on your search engine, it will let you to a new world of beauty. I personally like this site "aodaichamkhanh.com" because it has so many pictures of nice designs of Ao Dai.
I guess Summertimegirl must have tried these dresses on already. |
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Sun Mar 07, 2004 7:58 am |
W W, babyfish,
they are gorgeous. They look like something out of a fairytale! You will definitely be a princess in that dress! How fun to be able to wear something different in a wedding  |
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Sun Mar 07, 2004 4:42 pm |
Hi Babyfish....just the description makes me imagine I'm a princess too.
What sort of footwear for the wedding? |
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Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:04 am |
Hi Babyfish
You are right. I love the Ao Dai. 2 years back, I visited Hanoi and bought one at a boutique that specialises in silk. Mine is a deep red one with light blue trimmings. What I liked about it was that it was a slightly modified version - it was sleeveless in the Chinese Qi Pao kind of way - fitting yet lady-like. I love the feeling whenever I wear it. It makes one feel more regal and ladylike - definitely makes me less slouchy.
I think it looks better with wide leg flowy pants cos it adds to the aura of a lady. Love it. |
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Mon Mar 08, 2004 6:52 pm |
Hello Babyfish,
(Translation for the above means Long dresses are very beautiful ! minus a few grammatical symbols-- my keyboard's not a Vietnamese one) :P
I'm glad that being half Vietnamese/ Chinese I get to experience the best of both cultures as you would know ! and the Ao Dais are one of the loveliest 'jewels' of the Vietnamese culture.
In my mum's school days, she had to wear the ai dai as a uniform, both the tunic and the pants were a white material....she told me the girls were very pure in mind and heart and very pure in look, especially in white (I still think to this day she's still pure in a very sweet naiive way !)  In those days, the tunics were worn long, about 10cm above the ankle but some women wore it long to their ankles. In modern day times, they are worn shorter to just below the knees..... How did they run and play and ride their bicyles wearing the ao dais I asked-- with great difficulty !!:P Comfort-wise the dress is very nice to wear as the Ai Dai is secured by tiny press buttons (about 10 of them) making them invisible and so comfortable to wear. The pants are wide cut so are super comfortable and breathable.
The Ao Dai is a truly beautiful dress, in that it reveals the woman's beautiful figure without having to bare a morsel of skin and I love that !! That is why visiting journalists from around the world write amazing things about this wonderful dress-- it is simplistically beautiful and captivates the essence of femininity (in my mum's words). When my boyfriend first saw me in my yellow ao dai that my sister brought back from Vietnam for me, he said it was his fantasy dress for me !
The Ai Dai can be made from the thinnest of cottons, to silks, and organza... I saw on the site that you provided, one that looked like it was made out of tulle (the red one) that was so absolutely gorgeous !! The beauty of this amazing dress is that for any material it is made from, the layers perfectly conceal what's worn beneath, leaving everything to the imagination.  For weddings, they can be beautifully embellished to make you look like a Princess. My cousin wore a lovely red one embellished with gold and a "crown" or the hat to her Tea Ceremony.
As Jenny mentioned, it is a Vietnamese "take" on the Chinese cheongsam or qi pao-- both are really ultra feminine. Babyfish, I'm so happy that you're a bridesmaid at your best friend's wedding, and get to wear one of these traditional dresses !! Let us know how the fitting goes and what delicious colour you chose !!
Summertimegirl x
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Mabsy
Moderator
 
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 9644
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Tue Mar 09, 2004 5:37 pm |
Oooo! These sound absolutely beautiful! I once wore a traditional Chinese dress to my friend's wedding but I have no idea what type it was. I didn't actually realise there were different types (please excuse my ignorance). This particular one was from Sogo in Taipei. I think it cost something like Au$1500 (lucky I didn't have to pay for it! ) and it was absolutely divine (deep red also)! Ah the memories... I might have a look at some photos when I get home *blushes*
I love beautiful dresses, unfortunately I don't often get opportunities to wear them (not much to wear them to in Brisbane....)
Mabsy. |
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AoDaiFanatic
New Member
Joined: 17 Mar 2004
Posts: 2
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Wed Mar 17, 2004 9:01 am |
| Babyfish, I checked out the site that you've recommended (www.aidaichamkhanh.com) and saw one that I really like. How do I go about ordering something from that site? Is it located in VN? AC23 is the style that I like. Please help. |
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Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:54 pm |
Hello AoDaiFanatic,
I'm sorry that I don't know how to order from that company either. They should have an email address where you can send your requires. I got my Ao Dai from a Vietnamese Wedding Dress shop. There are many of them in Vancouver, BC. But to order a made-to-measure Ao Dai that fits you like a second skin :P:P:P, you should see a seamtress who knows how to do the complicated measuring. Every single Aodai is made for one lady only.
And AodaiFanatic, AC23 is similar to my friend's wedding dress. For me, I chose something like CT22, I just love it so much. |
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AoDaiFanatic
New Member
Joined: 17 Mar 2004
Posts: 2
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Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:13 pm |
Thanks for responding Babyfish. I truly appreciate it. I tried sending an email to the email provided but unfortunately, email did not go through. I checked out CT22 and it's gorgeous. Excellent taste Babyfish  My sister lives in Saigon and I forward her the link. She's going to check it out for me. I just have to find a local seamstress and get the measurements.
Thanks again Babyfish!!! |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:44 pm |
| Just wondering. when is the wedding and how are the fittings coming along? |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:12 pm |
| Hello, curious Fish, for your information, the wedding is on The 12th of June. It will not be super warm that time of the year but very pleasant. I'm going to the second fitting at the end of this month. My dress will be a pink one. Pink is my all time favorite colour, before it's become "pink is the new black" ( what a weirdest thing to say from those fashionitas). |
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Krikkit
New Member
Joined: 21 Apr 2004
Posts: 1
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Wed Apr 21, 2004 3:33 pm |
Ao dai are by far the most elegant, feminine dresses invented! I am having each of my bridesmaids wear one for my wedding.
I suggest finding a vietnamese tailor to custom make one for you. I have a guy in San Jose, CA who does great work really inexpensive. You can alter the pattern however you like, sketch it for him, and he can make it for you for $100.00. It's great!
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Wed Apr 21, 2004 7:16 pm |
| Thanks Kritkit for the tip of the San Jose tailor. And I agree with you totally about the extraordinary beauty of Vietnames Ao Dai. I can't wait to wear it on my friend's wedding in June. I love weddings.When is your wedding? :P:P:P |
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Mon May 10, 2004 6:44 pm |
| How are things coming along with the dress? Just wondering. |
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van
New Member
Joined: 30 Jul 2006
Posts: 1
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Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:22 pm |
| Kikrit, Can you give me the name and phone number for the tailor in San Jose? Does he have fabrics to choose from? I need to get a custom ao dai in time for a shotgun wedding in a month! Thanks so much! |
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Boraalgobre
Joined: 09 Jan 2011
Posts: 0
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Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:04 pm |
My wife to be is shopping for wedding dresses, and we are considering buying a preowned wedding dress.
However, we are a little uncertain about it. Some of the sellers do not show the actual picture of the dress
on the auctions. On other sites, some of the sellers are unwilling to meet with us to let us see the dress
before deciding to buy. In one of the cases, a seller mentioned that the dress was never cleaned but on
after we asked. Has anyone had any positive experiences or words of advice they could share regarding
the purchase of a preowned wedding dress? |
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:27 pm |
| The dresses are gorgeous. |
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