Nón quai thao

Woman in áo tứ thân dress with nón quai thao hat

The nón quai thao (nón "hat" quai "strap" thao "tassels") is a traditional Vietnamese flat palm hat.^[1] It is also called the nón ba tầm, (hat of three cubits), and to be distinguished from the conical nón lá hat.

Nón quai thao was worn in traditional Vietnam by women, as an accessory to finer garments, as opposed to the more functional clothes associated with farm work. Up until the early 20th century, this hat was widespread in Northern Vietnam.

The hat when worn by mediums traditionally had silver ornaments hanging from silk strings around the brim.^[2] Another name for the hat is nón thúng.^[3]

Nón quai thao on the doorsteps of a temple

References

1. Kirsten W. Endres, Andrea Lauser - Engaging the Spirit World: Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Vietnam 2012 "The Ten Girls were each allocated one two-storied house, three sets of clothes, one box of adornments, one flat palm hat (nón quai thao) and one traveling case in which to store everything."
2. Maurice M. Durand - Technique et panthéon des médiums viêtnamiens (Đông) 1959 "Chapeau de femme avec des attaches en argent (chiến) où sont suspendus des cordons de soie, giày thao. C'est le nón quai thao."
3. Minh Hương Hội An quê tôi: hồi ký, tạp văn, giai thoại 2000 "Nào nón lá, nón Gò Găng, nón thúng (nón quai thao), nón nỉ, nón cối, giay, dép, guốc, (") Cúp tóc Phong trào hô hào cắt lóc ngắn."