Áo dài the "ngũ thân" as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (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 today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s. On Tết and other occasions, Vietnamese men may wear an "áo gấm" (brocade robe), a version of the ao dai made of thicker fabric. Academic commentary on the ao dai emphasizes
Khmer clothing shirt, more like a dress than the regular shirt, similar to the Vietnamese Ao Dai, the Indian Kurta and the Malaysian "baju kurung". Generally it has a collar with a button at the neck to fasten from neck to chest like a Kurta while it normally narrows at the waist like a "baju kurung". But it has a small hidden cut at the hem like an "ao dai" which allows the lower part of the shirt to spread out. Most such tops are knee-length, just a few stopping at the thigh. This top was famous worn by rich women in