Overview
Amid French colonial rule and modernisation, Western dress spread in the cities and traditional dress changed.
Key garments and style
In the 1930s the Hanoi painter Nguyễn Cát Tường (French name Le Mur) reworked the five-panel tunic into a fitted, single-piece modern áo dài, which became a fashionable new dress among urban women. Men also took up Western clothing and caps.
Transition
After 1945, amid independence and partition, the áo dài became a national symbol.