A ''yếm'' or ''áo yếm'' (,

chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters ('' Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represent ...

: 裺) is a traditional Vietnamese

undergarment Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

that was once worn by Vietnamese women across all classes. It was most usually worn underneath a blouse or mantle to preserve modesty. It is a simple garment with many variations from its basic form, which is a simple, usually diamond or square-cut piece of cloth draped over a woman's chest with strings to tie at the neck and back.

History

The yếm might has been originated from the Chinese

dudou A ''dudou'' (; also known by other names) is a traditional Chinese form of the bodice, originally worn as an undershirt with medicinal properties. With the opening of China, it is sometimes encountered in Western and modern Chinese fashio ...

, a variant of similar

undergarments Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

used in China since antiquity whose use spread under the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

dynasties. During late 19th and until 20th century, it was mainly worn by women in northern Vietnam. Unlike other Vietnamese clothing that helped to segregate the classes, the unseen yếm were worn as an undergarment by Vietnamese women of all walks of life, from peasant women toiling in the fields to imperial consorts. It is an integral part of the ''

áo tứ thân The ''áo tứ thân'' (, ''four-part dress''), is a traditional Vietnamese dress commonly worn in the Northern part of Vietnam. The dress is related to the áo ngũ thân which translates as "5-part dress". After unification of Vietnam, the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

forced the whole country to adopt the costumes of

Đàng Trong Đàng Trong ( vi-hantu, , lit. "Inner Circuit"), also known as Nam Hà (, "South of the River"), was the South region of Vietnam, under the rule of the Nguyễn lords, later enlarged by the Nam tiến, Vietnamese southward expansion. The word '' ...

Kingdom, in which tunics and long trousers took the place of the yếm and skirt ('). The

White Hmong Hmong / Mong (; RPA: ''Hmoob,'' ; Nyiakeng Puachue: ; Pahawh: , ) is a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmongic languages spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hainan, northern Vietnam, Thailand, ...

were also affected, as the trousers replaced their traditional skirts. The áo dài was created when tucks, which were close fitting and compact, were added in the 1920s to this style. Trousers and tunics based on the Chinese pattern in 1774 were ordered by

Nguyễn Phúc Khoát Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (26 September 1714 – 7 July 1765) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled over the southern portion of Vietnam from the 16th–18th centuries. Also known as Chúa Võ (主武) or Võ vương (武王) (roughly ''Martial Princ ...

to replace the

sarong A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid ...

-like traditional clothing. Chinese clothing in the form of trousers and tunic were mandated by the Nguyễn dynasty. As late as the 1920s, in Vietnam's north area in isolated hamlets skirts were still worn. Ming, Tang, and Han dynasty-styled clothing was ordered to be adopted by Vietnamese military and bureaucrats by the Nguyễn lord

. Pants were mandated by the Nguyễn in 1744 and the

cheongsam ''Cheongsam'' (, ), also known as the ''qipao'' () and sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the , the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people. The cheongsam is most often s ...

inspired the áo dài. Chinese clothing started influencing Vietnamese dress during the

Lý dynasty The Lý dynasty ( vi, Nhà Lý, , chữ Nôm: 茹李, chữ Hán: 李朝, Hán Việt: ''Lý triều'') was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Early Lê dynasty an ...

. The current áo dài was introduced by the Nguyễn Lords.

Different types

While it was worn across classes, the material and colors used to make yếm varied widely based upon the person's social status and the occasion. Commoner women usually wore yếm in simple blacks and whites for day to day use, whereas during special occasions they could opt for more festive, brighter colors such as red and pink. Indeed, much of Vietnamese poetry has been dedicated to the beauty of women in their

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...

bodices ('). While the bottom of the yếm are v-shaped, there were different styles for the top of the garment which covered the neck, the most common two variations being the rounded neck or the v-shaped neck style. Some types of yếm have a little pocket within, where women often used to store a little

musk Musk ( Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial sub ...

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent ...

In modern Vietnam

Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, econo ...

reached Vietnam, by the 20th century women increasingly abandoned yếm for the Western bra. Fashion designers, in their constant quest to revitalize interest in traditional costumes - as well as reinvent them - have created many new collections of yếm. The modernized form of the garment is slightly different and is called "" rather than "yếm", the latter referring to the historical garment. ' has proven to be quite popular with young women, perhaps due to its similarity to the Western

halterneck Halterneck is a style of women's clothing strap that runs from the front of the garment around the back of the neck, generally leaving the upper back uncovered. The name comes from livestock halters. The word "halter" derives from the Germanic wo ...

References

External links

Chinese History

History

Vietnamese Traditional Costumes and Fashion

quehuong

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yem Undergarments Vietnamese clothing Vietnamese words and phrases History of Asian clothing Women's clothing

History

Different types

In modern Vietnam

See also

References

External links