HUE, Vietnam — The long, lithe national dress of Vietnam, the ao dai, is at the heart of an alluring new package from La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa.

The new ‘Long Lithe Vietnam’ package celebrates the 1,000-year history of a garment as singular to Vietnam as the kimono to Japan, and coordinates the made-to-measure production of an ao dai for one female guest.

The three-night package includes tickets to a fashion show on the city’s most glamorous boulevard and accommodation in a room that drinks in views of the fabled Perfume River.

As a garment, the ao dai defies pigeon-holing as a dress or a pant suit. Its close-fitting tunic top drapes two long panels as far as the ankles, with slits from the hips to the hemline. The sleeves are tight, the collar typically buttoned up, and the underwear slacks rather blousey. It’s quite frequently said that the ao dai reveals everything and shows nothing at the same time.

“After the conical hat, nothing quite says Vietnam like the ao dai,” said Phan Trong Minh, general manager of La Residence. “It’s as iconic as our pho, our cyclos and our water buffalo.”

Unlike the cyclo and water buffalo, La Residence is helping guests take home this icon. ‘Long Lithe Vietnam’ provides escorted visits to a renowned local tailor of the ao dai for material selection in silk and cotton and fittings for a custom-made garment.

The package steps out from Nov. 1, 2017, and runs through October of 2018 The cost is US $699 and includes accommodation, tickets to the fashion show, one bespoke ao dai and daily breakfast for two.

ABOUT LA RESIDENCE HUE HOTEL & SPA

Set on a two-hectare site with 200 meters of frontage on the fabled Perfume River, La Residence celebrated its grand opening in December 2005 after a painstaking restoration of the 1930-built mansion. The hotel’s distinctive bowed façade, its long horizontal lines and nautical flourishes are hallmarks of the streamline moderne school of art deco architecture.

The hotel’s 122 rooms and suites, restaurants, lounges, bars and conference room are tricked out in complementary art-deco furnishings and décor that evoke both the 1920s and 1950s. The hotel’s fine-dining venue, Le Parfum, serves Mediterranean and French cuisine, as well as dishes from an expansive Vietnamese menu.