the ao dai experienced a revival beginning in late 1980s, when state enterprise and schools began adopting the dress as a uniform again. in 1989, 16,000 vietnamese attended a miss ao dai beauty contest held in ho chi minh city. when the miss international pageant in tokyo gave its "best national costume" award to an ao dai-clad trường quỳnh mai in 1995, "thời trang trẻ" (new fashion magazine) claimed that vietnam's "national soul" was "once again honored." an "ao dai craze" followed that lasted for several years and led to wider use of the dress as a school uniform.