Thai traditional costumes vary by city and the ruler of each historical period.[1] Thai clothes can be classified according to six distinct periods of history; beginning with the 13th century. Previously, traditional Thai clothes were worn daily; however, they are now only worn on auspicious functions such as
Thai traditional marriage ceremonies.
Sukhothai clothing style became the fashion in 13-15th century. During the period The city-state of
Sukhothai was united other
Tai city-states into one kingdom. Sukhothai Men's clothing was a simple full sleeved top with a long V shape neck and a cloth brace on their shoulders. The loincloth was made of silk with a big metal or golden belt. Women's clothing was a long silk sarong with flowers painted on it. The top normally is a full sleeved silk cloth. Married women wore one cloth wrapped around the breasts made of silk or other fabric.[2]
Ayutthaya clothing was the style during the 14-18th centuries.
Ayutthaya city was the capital of Thai kingdom for 417 years, the longest period of Thailand that was ruled under one monarch.[3] Many styles clothing followed the period of Ayutthaya but the fashion changed frequently under the influence from various countries who come into contact and trading with the kingdom.
Historically, both Thai males and females dressed themselves with a loincloth wrap called pha chung hang or chong kraben. Men wore their pha chung hang to cover the waist to halfway down the thigh, while women covered the waist to well below the knee.[4] Bare chests and bare feet were accepted as part of the Thai formal dress code, and is observed in murals, illustrated manuscripts, and early photographs up to the middle of the 19th century.[4] In the royal court, royalty and nobility men are wearing
lomphok, a tall
pointed hat, made of white cloth wrapped around a bamboo frame, and
Khrui, a light outer garment worn as a gown or
robe in certain ceremonial settings. Traditional Thai attire has changed significantly throughout the
Rattanakosin period.[citation needed]
Early Rattanakosin central Thais dressed as same as Ayutthaya period, however, after the
Second Fall of Ayutthaya and repeated Burmese invasions, central Thai women began cutting their hair in a
crew-cut short style, which remained the national hairstyle until the 1900s.[5] Prior to the 20th century, the primary markers that distinguished class in Thai clothing were the use of cotton and silk cloths with printed or woven motifs, but both commoners and royals alike wore wrapped, not stitched clothing.[6]
Men's clothing
Binnya Sein or Chaophraya Mahayotha, the commander of
Mon regiment during the reign of
King Rama I in the 1800s
Prince
Svasti Sobhana, the son of
King Mongkut (Rama IV) wearing the royal costumes of the early Rattanakosin period
From the 1860s onward, Thai royals "selectively adopted
Victorian corporeal and sartorial etiquette to fashion modern personas that were publicized domestically and internationally by means of mechanically reproduced images."[6] Stitched clothing, including court attire and ceremonial uniforms, were invented during the reign of King
Chulalongkorn.[6] Western forms of dress became popular among urbanites in Bangkok during this time period.[6]
During the early 1900s, King
Vajiravudh launched a campaign to encourage Thai women to wear long hair instead of traditional short hair, and to wear pha nung (ผ้านุ่ง) and pha sinh (ผ้าซิ่น), a tubular skirt, instead of the pha chung hang (ผ้าจูงหาง) or Chong kraben (โจงกระเบน), a cloth wrap.[7]
On 15 January 1941,
Plaek Pibulsonggram issued a
Thai cultural mandate to modernize and westernize Thai dress, by deeming long-practiced customs of wearing underpants, wearing no shirt, or wearing a wraparound cloth, as forms of inappropriate public attire.[8]
The formal Thai costume, known in
Thai as ชุดไทยพระราชนิยม (
RTGS: chut thai phra ratcha niyom, literally Thai dress of royal endorsement), includes several sets of dress, designed as the Thai
national costume in formal occasions. Although described and intended for use as national costume, they are of relatively modern origins, having been conceived in the second half of the 20th century.
Women's clothing
Princess
Sirindhorn wearing the "Chut Thai Amarin" (
Thai: ชุดไทยอัมรินทร์
Princess
Soamsavali wearing the "Chut Thai Amarin" (
Thai: ชุดไทยอัมรินทร์
Princess
Ubolratana wearing the "Chut Thai Boromphiman" (
Thai: ชุดไทยบรมพิมาน)
Men's clothing
Prem Tinsulanonda, former Thai Prime Minister wearing the "chut thai phra ratcha niyom" (
Thai: ชุดไทยพระราชนิยม)
Former Thai Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva wearing the "chut thai phra ratcha niyom" (
Thai: ชุดไทยพระราชนิยม)
Surayud Chulanont, former Thai Prime Minister wearing the "chut thai phra ratcha niyom" (
Thai: ชุดไทยพระราชนิยม)