Work With Vietnamese
  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author

vietnam cultural literacy

Smart casual? What does it mean?

Most Vietnamese people have no idea about Western dress codes such as “black-tie”, “semi-formal” or “business casual”. For many of us, there are only two dress codes: “formal” and “casual” but generally speaking, Vietnamese people dress more casually than Westerners, mainly because of its hot climate. In Vietnam, a formal dress doesn’t need to have suit and tie. The following photos show examples of what can be considered as “formal”:
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And yes, they are considered as formal enough for office, job interview or wedding party. For female, the traditional “áo dài”, which means “long dress” in English, can also be considered as formal dress for ceremonies and parties (but not very suitable for job interview).
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Vietnamese traditional "áo dài" (long dress)
Dressing in the North is usually more formal than in the South, mainly because of the difference in culture and climate. It is colder in the North and hence, suit and tie are more popular there. Dress code also varies between professionals. People who work in the banking, insurance or finance sector usually dress more formal than those who work in IT. Most developers wear jean and t-shirt in the office, many companies even accept short and flip-flop. The following photo shows how staff dress in a software company in Ho Chi Minh City:
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Dress code is usually more casual in IT companies
Since Vietnam has no definitions of “black-tie”, “semi-formal”, “smart casual” or “business casual”, please give details instructions to your Vietnamese friends or colleagues in case they need to follow a certain dress code. Example photos for both male and female will perfectly solve the problem.
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Key takeaways

  • Such dress codes as “black-tie”, “semi-formal” or “business casual” are unknown to most Vietnamese. To ensure that people dress as expected, detailed instructions (with example photos) are necessary.
  • The traditional "ao dai" (long dress) can be considered as formal dress for female.
  • People in the North of Vietnam tend to dress more formally than those in the South.
  • For most IT companies, short, t-shirt and flip-flop can also be accepted in the office.

More to read...

  1. Who is Ms. Nguyen?
  2. How old are you?
  3. When it's time for siesta...
  4. To hear what isn't said
  5. Tet = Christmas + New Year
  6. Smart casual? What does it mean?
  7. Rubber time
  8. We request the honor of your presence...
  9. Do you want to relax, Sir?
  10. Where Midas is welcome
  11. From outings to the company trip
  12. The rising rainbow flag
  13. Song of a thousand honks
  14. To bribe or not to bribe...
  15. It is more than just money...
  16. The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
  17. Good luck, bad luck
  18. The ugly Vietnamese
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  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author