Khmer Clothing also known as the fashion of Cambodia is refer to the style-dress, both from ancient to present times worn by the Khmer people.
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There are three important silk textiles in Cambodia. They include the ikat silks (chong kiet in Khmer), or hol, the twill-patterned silks and the weft ikat textiles. Patterns are made by tying natural and synthetic fibers on the weft threads and then it is dyed. It is repeated for different colors until the patterns firm and cloth is woven. Traditionally, five colors are used. Red, yellow, green, blue and black are the most used.[1] The Sampot Hol is used as a lower garment and as the sampot chang kben. The Pidan Hol is used as a ceremonial hanging used for religious purposes.
Sot silk weaving has been an important part of Cambodia's cultural past. It has been documented that people from Takéo Province have woven silk since the Funan era and records, bas-relief and Zhou Daguan's report have shown that looms were used to weave sampots since ancient times.[1] Since ancient times, women have learned highly complex methods and intricate patterns, one of which is the hol method. It involves dying patterns on silk before weaving. What remains unique to Cambodian weavers is the uneven twill technique, the reason remains unclear why they adopted such an unusual method. The ancient bas-reliefs however provides a complete look at how fabrics were like, down to patterns and pleats. Silk woven pieces are used as heirlooms, in weddings and funerals, and as decoration in temples.
The sampot is the national garment of Cambodia. The traditional dress is similar to those worn in the neighboring countries of Laos and Thailand, but variations do exist between the countries. The sampot dates back to the Funan era when a Cambodian king allegedly ordered the people of his kingdom to wear the sampot at the request of Chinese envoys.
There are many variations for the sampot, each is washed according to social class. The typical sampot, known also as the sarong is typically worn by men and women of lower class. It measures approximately one and a half meters and both ends are sewn together. It is tied to safely secure it on the waist.
Sampot Châng Kben (សំពត់ចងក្បិន, ALA-LC: saṃbát caṅ kpin) is the preferred choice of clothing for women of upper and middle classes for daily wear. This practice of daily wear died out in the beginning of the twentieth century. Unlike the typical Sampot, it is more of a pant than a skirt. It is a rectangular piece of cloth measuring 3 metres long and one metres wide.[2] It is worn by wrapping it around the waist, stretching it away from the body and twisting the knot. The knot is then pulled between the legs and held by a metal belt. Regardless of class, all Cambodian women wear the Sampot Chang Kben on special events. Men may also wear it, but the traditional patterns depend on gender. Sampot Chang Kben is adopted in Thailand and Laos, where it is known as Chong Kraben. It dates to ancient Cambodia where deities often wore such styles.[3]
Sampot Phamuong (សំពត់ផាមួង ALA-LC: saṃbát phā muaṅ) are many different variations of traditional Khmer textiles.[4] They are single colored and twill woven. There are currently 52 colors used in Sampot Phamuong. The Phamuong Chorabap is a luxurious fabric using up to 22 needles to create. Phamuong variation are rabak, chorcung, anlounh, kaneiv and bantok. It usually contains floral and geometrical motifs. The most valued silk used to create the Phamuong is Cambodian yellow silk, known for its fine quality. New designs draw inspiration from ancient patterns of old silk.
Sampot Hol (សំពត់ហូល ALA-LC: saṃbát hūl) is a typical traditional textile. There are two kinds of Sampot Hol, one is a wrapping skirt that uses a technique called chong kiet and twill weave. Influenced by the Indian patola, it developed patterns and techniques over the centuries to become a genuine Khmer art style. The sampot hol has over 200 patterns combined with three to five colors, yellow, red, brown, blue, and green. There are four variations, Sampot Hol, Sampot Hol Por, Sampot Hol Kben and Sampot Hol Katong. Patterns are usually geometric motifs, animals, and flower motifs.
Both Sampot Phamuong and Sampot Hol believed to have invented from original Sampot in Udong Era as word Phamuong comes from Siam language that Pha mean Fabric and Mung mean violet while Sampot Hol had introduced as ceremonial skirtcloth to the Thai court as sompak poom or pha poom in 19th century.[5][6] Although that era, Thai culture influenced that much into Khmer society, Khmer weaving however, is not a copy from Siam, because Cambodia already had a weaving culture before the Klung civilization. At this time, Cambodia still do not know what the word like Phamung meant in that time.
Sampot Tep Apsara (Khmer: សំពត់ទេពអប្សរាអង្គរ) is a famous type of sampot in the Khmer empire era, which still found on the base belief of Apsaras carving around the famous temple, Angkor wat. Generally, all of those skirts are tied to safely secure it on the waist and are held up with a style of golden belt. A long pleat is dropped at the middle of Sampot which the length of that fabric recoils at the calf of the leg. The hem of the skirt at the both part always get a small knot up. There are also two knots that come from the waist of sampot with the left Knot as the long knot like the thin long fabric while the right Knot has the same physical appearance but more decoration at the middle of the knot. Today, this style of sampot is the fictional skirt for nowadays people as No of this kind of sampot wearing by anyone but will an illustration to public as it will wearing in some show as they disgus as Apsara.
Sampot Samloy (Khmer: សំពត់សម្លុយ) is long skirt used daily for men and women. The name Samloy mostly refers to no colour but black for ancient name, now it is sometimes recognized as the soft, thin fabric with more decoration and pattern look Sarong Batik but may be smaller. With its thin and soft appearance, the style of dress had been required to hold a knot, make it to become Sampot Chang Kben easily. However, it is necessary to make a fold at the left or right side like Sarong and Another sampot but most of female wearer, likely to hold its knot at up middle, drop a small division site at the length of Saloy at the knee to be easily to walk for the wearer. Saloy was known to be popular during Post-Angkor Era.
Sampot Chorabap (Khmer: សំពត់ចរបាប់) is a long skirt of silk embroidered all over the gold thread, worn by woman in Khmer classical dance, newlywed and the character of Mae Hua (Khmer: មេហួ) in Royal Ploughing Ceremony of Cambodia.
Sampot Sâng (Khmer: សំពត់សេង) is a short skirt with silk embroidery.
Sampot Seai Sua (Khmer: សំពត់សែសយ) is a kind of skirt of one colour with a gold or silver embroidered band along a lower ham. Today, this skirt is very popular among Laotian's lady than Khmer people.
Sampot Lberk (Khmer: សំពត់លើ្បក) is a long skirt covered with entirely silk embroiredy. Today it is worn in marriage ceremonies in the place like Sampot Sabum. In ancient times, This kind of sampot is mostly worn by Noblemen of Cambodia during Lovek era.
Sampot Alorgn (Khmer: សំពត់អន្លូញ) is a long skirt with the vertical stripes, commonly worn by old people or farmer in the countryside. This one is share highly common to Burma's Longyi.
There are many variation of Tops known as Shirt in Cambodia. The invention of traditional Aor is found after Khmer empire era at the late of 13 century to 14 century
Chang Pong (Khmer: អាវចងពង់) is a piece of fabric in any colour which Khmer people at the late of 13 century especially women, started used it to cover their chest, showed up only the stomach. The style of Covering, is cover it at the back and each side of the fabric to join at the middle the chest and roll it to up to be smaller to tie which this style called Chang Pok.It then developed more to Tronum which is a thick and strong fabric cover on the chest of khmer lady, which stick on the body strongly. Sometimes, the commonly style of wearing this garment is similar way to wearing Aor Chang Pok, just Aor tronum, not showed as much skin like Aor Chang Pok. Popularity of wearing Aor Tronum, were for young rich lady during Chatomok Era and today an important costume of all to be used in Khmer classical dance.
Av Bumpong (Khmer: អាវបំពង់)mean tube skirt in English according to appearance like a long tube, bribe to the body at the head and drop to down easily. Aor Bupok is a long shirt like a dress than the regular shurt similar to Vietnamese Ao Dai, Indian's Kurta and Malaysia's baju kurung. Generally, It has a Collar with a button at the length from the neck to chest like Kurta while it normally norrow at the middle of the shirt in the stomach part like Baju Kurung but has the small hidden cut at hem of each shirt of shirt like Ao Dai which allowed the below part of shirt turn to Wide and Big. Most of Shirt is length at the knee while few one just only Length at the thigh. This Shirt is famous during Lovek to Oudong era worn by rich lady.
Av Dai Puon is a traditional blouse in Lovek era. The name of dai puon is literally meaning according to inflated short arm. This shirt usually had a row of button and just of few of extremely rich girl counld had one during that era.
Av Pnot Kbach is a female formal shirt primarily worn by wealthy young women. It is often adorned with a row of pleats with floral decorations. It is often paired with a collar and the hem of arm in the same style. The period in which this shirt was invented is not specifically known, but many believed it can be attributed to Lovek. This shirt is quite similar to a Burmese style, as it perhaps it was influenced by the culture of Burma.
Av neang nov is a the long arm shirt, worn by woman.
Av Pak is a recent popular fashion blouse in Cambodia worn by Woman. This one is known as the khmer version of Kebaya with plain stamped cotton elaborately hand-painted embroidered silk with gold thread. In the past, this kind of shirt required it own unique style with only white colour with the high full of embroider. Today, This shirt has the more gold thread in several colour and had cut into a lot of modern fashion which highly popular to Khmer people especially middle aged and young woman with the narrow style and several decoration model. This shirt had been noted as today's khmer national costume where a lot of khmer girl had used this blouse at the special occasion both inside and outside Cambodia to revived the khmer identity. This shirt usually worn with Sampot Hol and a few worn with Sampot Chang Kben
Traditionally Cambodians wear a checkered scarf called a "Krama". The Krama has been a symbol of Cambodian dress since the first century reign of Preah Bath Hun Tean although it is not clear when exactly the krama became fashionable in the streets.
The "krama" is what distinctly separates the Khmer (Cambodians) from their Thai, Vietnamese, and Laotian neighbors. The scarf is used for many purposes including for style, protection from the hot sun, an aid (for your feet) when climbing trees, a hammock for infants, a towel, or a "sarong". A "krama" can also be easily shaped into a small child's doll for play. Under the Khmer Rouge, all Khmer were forced to wear a checkered "krama".[7]
The conical hat is also worn by many particularly by workers in the countryside to keep the sun off.[8] This, however, is a Vietnamese hat that has been adopted to a certain extent by Khmer in the provinces adjacent to Vietnam.
Traditional Cambodian clothing is broadly referred to as Sampot with many variations as national dress of Cambodia. Assisting on one status in Khmer society, Khmer clothing has varied by region and time, and each social class has a different sense of fashion. Generally, the new fashion which had been invented in the current period, will always passed down to next period but just with some elimination replaced by new version but some clothing had been disappeared through the new era for long times and restored in another period due to the popularity.
(Khmer: សម័យហ្វូណន)
As the first period of Cambodia, Funan led its earlier fashion style to Khmer people, with its recently influenced by the India in totally. Some clothing style of this period got a high similarity to Indian, just some different according to the native origin until the popularity of Sampot came to the country after a Cambodian king ordered the people of his kingdom to wear the sampot at the request of Chinese envoys. Despite some similarity on costume style, both men and women had on own.
Noble man and royalty worn Sampot Chang Kben in their daily life with the chest exposed. The varieties of Yantra tattooing had found in drawing of ancient Khmer script on their body in order for protection. With the Hinduism spread over the country, The King always crowned with long corner crown in different colour depicts their royalty.
Begin short straight hair is a head hairstyle for average people while tying a chignon can seem for Royalty.
Unlike the average with rich people, poor people look like a naked person with just straw skirt cover around their waist or wearing a skirt make from animal's skin or from the cotton. They habitually have no jewelry but got a same hairstyle to rich people.
(Khmer: សម័យចេនឡា )
Share the common with Funan but Chenla still received its unique style. According to the bas belief at Vat Phou, a still ruin of Chenla, its national costume noticed a high different from Funan, except the headdress which then allowed only King during that era.
(Khmer: សម័យអង្គរ )
Khmer Empire or Angkor period is a strongly wave in Cambodia history, which then spread its whole culture to foreign as well as its more Khmer fashion style rather than Indian of previous period. According to Zhou Daguan's Description of the Khmer people, He wrote that:
Despite, this apsara costume not to wore today, it became the high culture of Khmer national costume and the main dress for Cambodian Famous, Apsara Dance.
(Khmer: សម័យចតុម្មុខ )
Since Thais sacked Angkor in 1400 AD. Chatomok period at its earliest time (Nowaday Phnom Penh) maintain the highly invader of Buddhism rather than Hindism influenced since King Jayavarman VII,the great reign. This post-angkor era submitted a power achievement dress contact with Buddhism and abandoned some style substitute to Hindu such which had came through three period already. Legacy Deva's Apsara's crown among the one. According to unsure evidence for clothing habit of Khmer People during Chartomok, some thoughts suoposed its style fade to Lovek region. However it then report that Chartomok People acquaint as great extraordinary fashion style than Lovek.
After a long lost war, Cambodia Suvivar aware to lost an original way of living but then created the newstyle with the influence from its neighbourhood Country s into uniquely khmer thinking. Different of first three kingdoms in Cambodia, Cambodian had no tops exposed again but the nice fabric cover around beautifulully for Lady.
In contrast, the third class or average female people, had the some style of clothes to the upper class but with black colour the most and usually wearing Sarong with no decoration and Shawl but Krama is a useful fabric.
The Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s was well-noted for the popularity of unisex black "pajamas." Typically the peasant outfit consisted of a collarless black shirt, baggy trousers, and checkered krama knotted loosely about the neck. Brightly colored clothing was strictly prohibited under the Khmer Rouge. People were limited to black, dark blue, or maroon plain coloring. Women were strictly forbidden to wear any Western-style trousers or jeans at any time, although this has now changed, becoming increasingly popular particularly among young women today.[9]
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