By Mai Nhat September 14, 2020 | 08:40 am GMT+7 vietnamnet
French lensman Pierre Dieulefils captured images of daily life in Vietnam in the 1880s.
![At the end of the 19th century, southern women preferred ao ngu than (five-part ao dai) with beaded jewelry. According to Vietnamese designer Sy Hoang, rich women in this period of time used to wear this type of ao dai, with the four layers representing the parents of both the wife and husband. The fifth layer represents the wearer. The clothing also has five buttons, symbolic of the five qualities every one should have - nhan (kindness), le(decorum), nghia(uprightness), tri(wisdom) and tin (faithfulness). These photos are in Indo-Chine Pittoresque & Monumentale: Annam – Tonkin book, which includes a collection of photos taken by French lensman Pierre Dieulefils, who was a soldier in Indochina before returning to Vietnam in 1988 to follow his passion for photography.](https://i-english.vnecdn.net/2020/09/14/phu-nu-nam-ky-2-1276-159973161-6394-1455-1600046732.jpg)
By Mai Nhat September 14, 2020 | 08:40 am GMT+7 vietnamnet
French lensman Pierre Dieulefils captured images of daily life in Vietnam in the 1880s.