Sinh - Glamorous traditional costume of Lao women
As you may know, traditional costumes have been around here for many centuries. These authentic clothes show us the culture of each nation and also celebrate something related to their national values. If Vietnam has attractive ‘Ao Dai’, Cambodia has fabulous “Saem Phot”, the first sign to recognise Lao women is their unique “Sinh”.
The Sinh is a simple tube skirt made of cotton or silk. In terms of design, they come with several choices of colors, motifs which reflects the culture, social relationships and beliefs among the community and region. This glamorous Sinh distinguish the nature of different ethnic groups and reflect their sense of art and richness of their spiritual life.
A Sinh includes typically 3 components:
- huoa sinh or "the head of the sinh", is the waistband part
- tuoa sinh or "the body of the sinh", is the main part of the skirt. This part normally only consists of one or two colors
- tdin sinh or "the foot of the sinh", is the hem part which is always designed with a lot of colorful details.
Nowadays, economic development always followed by the changes in society and culture, especially the way people dress up. However, when travelling to Laos, a Country of a Million Elephants, you will be amazed that Lao people still maintain their national clothing. It is an implicit way to express the love to their country, without having to say a word.