According to the “Kham Dinh Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le” (Historical Documentation of Law, Norms & Social Control in Imperial Nguyen Dynasty), the outfit named “Nhat Binh” was regulated to be the casual outfit of Empress, Consorts, Concubines and Princesses.
Nhat Binh’s style originated from an outfit called “Doi Kham Phi Phong” from China’s Ming dynasty, which is a sub-type of the Doi Kham (對襟) outfit which has a large-banded rectangular neckline.
In the photo below, you’ll see that the pattern from the neckline to the chest of Nhat Binh aligns into a rectangular shape, thus the origin of its name. The body of the outfit is covered with circular patterns, scattered with embroidery of phoenix gracefully spreading their wings or elegant floral designs depending on the status of the wearer, finished by embellishment of decorative beads or accessories. Sewn on the end of the large sleeves are the colours of the five elements (五行) of earth life: Green (Wood), White (Metal), Blue (Water), Red (Fire) and Yellow (Earth). However, the regulation of these multi-coloured sleeve-ends are not applied on the Nhat Binh worn by Empresses.
The Nguyen Dynasty adopted a coloured-clothing system, which stipulated people from different positions to wear different coloured and styled clothes. The colour of Nhat Binh worn by Empresses is dominant gold, occasionally orange; for Princesses is dominant red, for Noble Consorts is pinkish red, for Consorts dominant purple, for Imperial Concubines is lavender coloured, as this outfit weren’t regulated to people who are lower positioned Noble Ladies.
During the imperial time of Emperors Gia Long and Minh Mang, when regulations were fulfilled and strict, the outfit Nhat Binh were usually paired with a silver under-clothing, and a phoenix crown depending on the wearer’s imperial class. However, from the imperial time of Emperor Dong Khanh onwards, this outfit is often paired with white wide-legged pants with large-sized “khan vanh” head accessories, demonstrating the simplifications made during the last few years of the Nguyen empirical system.
After the collapse of the Nguyen dynasty, as well as the empirical system of Vietnam, taken down by Ngo Dinh Diem, this outfit officially became the formal outfit of the noble class, worn on national celebration days and especially during weddings.
Furtherly stated in “Kham Dinh Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le”, the detail regulation for casual outfits for Empress, Consorts, Concubines and Princesses during the Nguyen dynasty in 1807 are listed below:
Empress:
Head-wear: 2 of the Nine Dragon crowns, 1 of the Nine Phoenix crown, 8 golden phoenix hairpins
Outfit: 1 court Nhat Binh made from golden-coloured silk with embroidery of 20 male and female dragons, phoenixes and phasianidaes; 1 casual Nhat Binh made from white-coloured eight-threaded silk with embroidery of dragons and phoenixes.
Princess:
Head-wear: 1 of the Seven Phoenix crown, 12 floral hairpins
Outfit: 1 court Nhat Binh made from red-coloured silk, embroidered with circular male phoenix patterns.
Noble Consort:
Head-wear: 1 of the Five Phoenix crown, 10 floral hair pins
Outfit: 1 court Nhat Binh made from pinkish-red-coloured silk, embroidered with circular female phoenix, 1 casual Nhat Binh made from white-coloured eight-threaded silk embroidered with circular female phoenix patterns.
Consort:
Head-wear: 1 of the Three Phoenix crown and 8 floral hair pins
Outfit: 1 court Nhat Binh made from purple-coloured silk embroidered with circular male phoenix pattern, 1 casual Nhat Binh made from white-coloured eight-threaded silk embroidered with circular female phoenix patterns.
Imperial Concubines:
Head-wear: 1 of the Single Phoenix crown and 8 floral hair pins.
Outfit: 1 court Nhat Binh made from lavender-coloured silk and 1 casual Nhat Binh made from white-coloured eight-threaded silk embroidered with female phoenixes.
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