At the end of the 19th century southern women preferred "ao ngu than" (five-piece ao dai) and beaded jewelry. According to designer Sy Hoang, rich women used to wear this type of ao dai, with four layers representing the parents of the wife and husband and the fifth, the wearer. The tunic also had five buttons, symbolic of the five qualities everyone should have - nhan (kindness), le (decorum), nghia (uprightness), tri (wisdom) and tin (faithfulness).: Annam – Tonkin", by Dieulefils, who was a soldier in Indochina before returning to Vietnam in 1888 to follow his passion for photography. … [Read more...] about Vietnam in the late 19th century through a lens
