Miniskirts, Morality, and Modernity: The Role of Fashion in Khmer Identity to 1975

The Cambodian state and its people have long negotiated their identity with their neighbors and those who came within their orbit. This paper focuses on the sartorial means by which these negotiations unfolded. In the pre-colonial era Khmer identity was read against that of the Vietnamese and other ethnic groups. Under French rule in the colonial period, Khmer identity was oppressed, reshaped, and renegotiated. This research focuses on specific items of clothing and their controversial use or abuse by various groups in this region. Court documents, legal cases, ephemera produced by the colonial and post colonial state reveal the significance of clothing and fashion in these negotiations of power, identity, and statehood.