Just picked up on this thread on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree. Wildbill34 has written a great post, summing up the most common dress code in Vietnam as follows:
On a recent visit to Vietnam, I did some counts of the types of clothing worn on the street in cities and villages from Can Tho north to Bao Loc. I also reviewed hundreds of photos, and some video tapes taken over the past 7 years. Over 95% of the women wore long slacks and a blouse with ¾ or long sleeves. About 95% of the men wore long slacks and a shirt with a collar and sleeves. Laborers, young men and persons engaged in athletics were more likely to wear shorts, but the majority did not. Women working indoors were more likely to wear short sleeves. Women are well aware of the effects of the tropical sun on their skin, and a sun tan is not admired. You’ll see young women on bikes wearing elbow length gloves and masks to avoid the sun.
- Covering up in style. Photo by: Erik Charlton, Flickr
Others on the forum point out the need to cover up to past the knee and over the shoulder for places of worship – standard advice for temples across Asia - ie no shorts and vest tops. But, as many other South-east Asian countries, it’s also worth noting that many local girls do dress v sexily by night, more so in big cities - so there is an outlet!
