What's the national traditional dress in Vietnam?

The national traditional dress in Vietnam is the ao dai, a silk tunic with pants worn by women and men. Ao dài are worn for special occasions including Tet, the new year celebration. Since the twentieth century, Vietnamese people have also worn contemporary clothing that is popular in many places in the world.

To many it is the iconic symbol of Vietnam. When some think of Vietnam style, they imagine a woman elegantly decked out in a conical hat and a flowing silk tunic, or ao dai. The conical hat, also known as a non la, has started to die out – first gaining popularity in rural environments more than 1,000 years ago for their shade and then different styles emerged for men and women and for casual and formal occasions – but these days the non la is becoming less fashionable. Not so for ao dai.