 A modernized red blouse embroidered in gold thread, Av Pak is now a popular style in Khmer fashion | |
| Type | Traditional Blouse-dress |
|---|---|
| Material | Silk, cotton |
| Place of origin | Cambodia |
Av Pak (Khmer: អាវប៉ាក់, also pronounced Aao Pak) is a traditional blouse-dress worn by women in Cambodia. Its literal translation is embroidery shirt in English.The blouse shared many attributes with the Kebaya blouse-dress of Indonesia, including the elaborate embroidered gold-threads used in formal versions of the Kebaya. It is usually worn with the Sampot Hol,[1] a garment worn around the lower body which sometimes uses a more formal and elegant gold thread in the Khmer tradition. However, the Sarong is still frequently used with the Av Pak by ethnic Chams and Javanese in the poor and rural parts of the country.
The Khmer people consider the Av Pak to be a classic yet modern suit-dress which uses traditional Cambodian embroidery. In the 21st century, the blouse has come to be considered the national garment of Cambodia. Traditional upper garments have lost their popularity among Cambodian women. The Av Bopock, a tube shirt or tube dress is too closely associated with the Cham people, an ethnic minority in Cambodia[2] and the Sbai, a shawl-like shoulder wrap dating back to the Khmer Empire era, is now considered too immodest because of the thin cloth used in the garment and the style of baring one shoulder when wearing the Sbai.[3]
