long dress

The áo dài (English pronunciation: ; Vietnamese: [ʔaːw˧˦ zaːj˨˩] (North), [ʔaːw˦˥ jaːj˨˩] (South)) is a Vietnamese national garment worn by both sexes but most commonly by women. Besides suits and dresses nowadays, men and women can also wear áo dài on formal occasions. It is a long, split tunic dress worn over trousers. Áo translates as shirt. Dài means "long". The term can be used to describe any clothing attire that consists of a long tunic, such as "nhật bình".
The word ao dai was originally applied to the outfit worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other Hanoi artists redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s. On Tết and other occasions, Vietnamese men may wear an áo gấm (brocade robe), a version of the ao dai made of thicker fabric.
Ao Dai has traditionally marketed with a feminine appeal, with "Miss Ao Dai" pageants being very popular in Vietnam and overseas Vietnamese. However, men also wear ao dai or modified ao dai during weddings or formal occasions. Ao dai is one of the few Vietnamese words that appear in English-language dictionaries. Ao Dai can be paired with the Non La or the Khan Van.

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