AO DAI CUSTOMS OF WOMEN DURING THE FRENCH COLONIAL PERIOD IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY AS ILLUSTRATED IN PHU NU TAN VAN NEWSPAPER

Abstract

Phu Nu Tan Van was a pioneering newspaper that championed the feminist movement and women's social
reform in Southern Vietnam during the early twentieth century. Its illustrations did more than accompany
editorial content; they vividly captured women's everyday lives, aesthetic preferences, and evolving cultural
practices under French colonial rule. In particular, the newspaper's numerous depictions of the ao dai provide
significant visual evidence of the garment's stylistic transformation during this formative historical period.
These images not only symbolized shifting ideals of modern womanhood and beauty but also played an active
role in shaping public perception and disseminating contemporary fashion trends at a time when Vietnam was
still under colonial domination.