Reviving the beauty of the Ao Dai in March.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City organized a campaign to encourage women in the city to wear the traditional ao dai dress throughout the month of March, from daily activities to work, in order to welcome the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival and International Women's Day on March 8th.

A series of events celebrating the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) will be held throughout March. The highlight is the "Ao Dai City - The City I Love" journey, starting from the Student Cultural Center on Sunday, March 6th (and on Sundays March 13th and 20th), to cultural and historical sites in the city. Participating students will wear ao dai and travel by bicycle.

The art program "Ao Dai - Endless Beauty" will open at 6:30 PM on International Women's Day at the Youth Cultural Center. The photo exhibition "Ao Dai Through the Ages" will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, the Ao Dai Museum, the War Remnants Museum, and Chi Lang Park (Dong Khoi Street). The Ao Dai Festival will take place at the Ao Dai Museum from March 5th to the end of March.

In addition, there will be photo contests such as "Elegant Ao Dai," an Ao Dai design competition for university students in the city, an Ao Dai flower arrangement competition, and a floral Ao Dai fashion show for international and Vietnamese floral designers on March 19th and 20th...

The traditional Vietnamese dress (áo dài) has become a beautiful image in lacquer paintings.

The Vietnamese ao dai is truly a timeless beauty. Although it has been modernized and stylized many times throughout history, it still retains its unique character, unmistakable from any other national costume. It is the soul of the nation.

From the 1930s, artist Cát Tường of Ngày Nay magazine, part of the Tự Lực Văn Đoàn literary group, was the first to design a modernized version of the traditional ao dai, which he named "Ao Dai Le Mur," published in Ngày Nay magazine ("le mur" in French means wall, which was his pen name, Cát Tường).

After 1954, in South Vietnam, the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) underwent several modernizations and stylistic changes. However, the most memorable was the ao dai with a very wide, round neckline worn by Mrs. Tran Le Xuan, wife of Advisor Ngo Dinh Nhu. According to many accounts, President Diem was very displeased when his sister-in-law wore this ao dai with a wide neckline while receiving foreign guests. At that time, the ao dai had very high collars, very long skirts, and especially a very tight waist. The "Mrs. Nhu's ao dai" was not popular and few people wore it.

In the late 1960s, the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) underwent a sensational breakthrough with the "raglan sleeve" ao dai – meaning the sleeves weren't joined across the shoulders but rather from the armpit to the neck. The hem was shorter, reaching almost to the knees, and the waist was quite loose, not as stiff as before. High school girls at the time were required to wear ao dai to school, and young women loved this style because it was so comfortable. The image of schoolgirls in white ao dai cycling along tree-lined streets in the city has been an endless source of inspiration for countless poems, songs, and paintings.

Young people in Vinh City wear traditional ao dai dresses for Tet (Vietnamese New Year) photos.

During the subsidy period, despite the extremely difficult economic conditions, the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) still existed. It occasionally appeared at receptions and traditional weddings. However, paradoxically, after the opening up and reforms, and with the improving economy, the ao dai almost disappeared, overshadowed by the influx of fashionable long and short dresses, fitted and flared gowns that captivated countless young women. We rarely see the ao dai at important events, parties, or weddings. Only ao dai remain, worn by female flight attendants of Vietnam Airlines on flights across the globe. And it is admired by women around the world.

More than 40 years after reunification, in 2015, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, launched the "School Ao Dai" program to encourage female students in junior and senior high schools to wear the ao dai to school. It was only an encouragement, not a requirement. And currently, female civil servants and employees in departments, agencies, and districts of the city are required to wear the ao dai on the first day of the week for the flag-raising ceremony. The revival of the beautiful traditional ao dai, though belated, is still better late than never.

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