Áo dài the way the dress ties feminine beauty to Vietnamese nationalism, especially in the form of "Miss Ao Dai" pageants, popular both among overseas Vietnamese and in Vietnam itself. "Ao dai" is one of the few Vietnamese words that appear in English-language dictionaries. "Tà sau": back flap "Tà trước": front flap The ao dai can be worn with a "nón lá" (conical leaf hat), a style associated with Huế. On weddings and other formal occasions, a circular headgear called a "khăn đóng" is worn. For centuries, peasant women typically wore a halter top () underneath a blouse or overcoat, alongside a
The dress first large-scale scientific study on the dress was published in "Current Biology" three months after the image went viral. The study, which involved 1,400 respondents, found that 57% saw the dress as blue and black; 30% saw it as white and gold; 11% saw it as blue and brown; and 10% could switch between any of the colour combinations. A small number saw it as blue and gold. Women and older people disproportionately saw the dress as white and gold. The researchers further found that if the dress was shown in artificial yellow-coloured lighting almost all respondents saw the dress