They may be among the most powerful men in the world, but George Bush and Vladimir Putin looked more like a couple of Harry Potter's masters at Hogwarts school.The American and Russian presidents were wearing traditional silk Vietnamese robes to mark the end of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi, along with the leaders of 19 other countries. It has become the custom to try on the host country's traditional costume.
Before wars and communist revolution in Vietnam, the ao dai was a popular unisex item, most elegant on slender women who were said to 'reveal everything yet show nothing' beneath the figure-hugging tunic. Now it is making a comeback but is used mainly for wedding dresses and girls' school uniforms.
Bill Clinton began the dressing up tradition at the first Apec summit in Seattle in 1993. His choice of traditional American dress was the leather bomber jacket.
| Gosh, Imagine that - Clinton wanting to play dress-up and choosing a military theme. This isn't the only new "tradition" begun during the carefree daze of the Camelot II Follies... |