Áo dài

(; , ) is a modernized Vietnamese national garment consisting of a long split tunic worn over silk trousers. It can serve as formalwear for both men and women. translates as shirt and means "long". The term can also be used to describe any clothing attire that consists of a long tunic, such as .

There are inconsistencies in usage of the term ''áo dài''. The currently most common usage is for a Francized design by Nguyễn Cát Tường (whose shop was named ''Le Mur''), which is expressly a women's close-fitting design whose torso is two pieces of cloth sewn together and fastened with buttons. A more specific term for this design would be ''áo dài Le Mur''. Other writers, especially those who claim its "traditionality," use ''áo dài'' as a general category of garments for both men and women, and include older designs such as ''áo ngũ thân'' (five-piece torso), ''áo tứ thân'' (four-piece torso, no buttons), ''áo đối khâm'' (four-piece torso, no buttons), ''áo giao lĩnh/lãnh'' (six-piece torso, no buttons). Some writers even go so far to claim that the term ''áo dài'' ("long top/garment") may have been calqued from Chinese terms for Manchu garments, such as the Mandarin ''changshan''/''changpao'' (長衫/長袍, men's "long top/robe") and the Cantonese ''cheongsam'' (長衫, women's "long top"), and include these garments in the category of ''áo dài''.

The predecessor of the was derived by the Nguyễn lords in during 18th century. This outfit was derived from the , a five-piece dress commonly worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The áo dài was later made to be form-fitting which was influenced by the French, and other Hanoi artists redesigned the as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of (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. The dress for women was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s. On and other occasions, Vietnamese men may wear an (brocade robe), a version of the made of very thick fabric and with sewed symbols.

The dress has traditionally been marketed with a feminine appeal, with "Miss Ao Dai" pageants being popular in Vietnam and with overseas Vietnamese. However, the men version of or modified are also worn during weddings or formal occasions. The is one of the few Vietnamese words that appear in English-language dictionaries. The can be paired with the or the . Provided by Wikipedia