It’s different for girls

The Ao Dai (pronounced roughly as ‘Ow Zye’ or ‘Ow Yie’ depending on which part of Vietnam you’re in) is more than the national dress – it’s the school uniform.

For girls between 16-18 in the last three years of high school, a white Ao Dai signals their student status. The boys, meanwhile, continue with the blue trousers, white shirt and red neck scarf that is the unisex uniform from primary school.

At University, the white Ao Dai changes to colour – each seat of learning having its own distinctive shade. however, by this stage, girls are only expected to wear it on the first day of the week.

Women of all ages throughout Vietnam still wear the Ao Dai, but it is arguably the commonplace use of it as a school uniform that will maintain its elegant lines into the future and ensure it doesn’t become simply a museum piece like so many other countries’ national costumes.