Born and raised in the capital, had the opportunity to study and graduate from the Master of Marketing program in the UK, but Vu Hanh Linh (24 years old) has a hobby of wearing ao dai instead of following emerging trends. youth. The image of a girl in a modern ao dai standing in front of an old dormitory with red flags, mossy old town walls or a newspaper stall has created Linh’s own character. “The ao dai is really beautiful. Of course my wardrobe still has a lot of dresses, T-shirts, shirts but there is always a separate drawer for ao dai. This compartment is getting tighter now,” was the word. share with Hanh Linh Zing. Innovative dresses suitable for young people. From economic students to the owner of a Ao Dai tailor shop For a long time, Hanh Linh has enjoyed traditional Vietnamese clothing, whether it’s traditional or modern ao dai. However, when she knew that ao dai was smooth, she really thought that she could stick with this outfit. Every Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, she “buys” a new set. Linh said her friends can “catch” her hobby because she invites them to go see ao dai too much. The feeling of wanting to wear ao dai gradually grew larger inside her while away from the countryside. At that time, what made Linh the most regret was that she could not carry all of her Vietnamese food and her dresser. Not only buying a lot, Hanh Linh also knows how to make ao dai by herself. After returning home, she looked for ao dai for the Mid-Autumn Festival but was not satisfied because she wanted something different. From there, she decided to buy self-made fabrics. Supported by family and friends after making the first product, Hanh Linh decided to open a Ao Dai tailor shop. She did not want to lose the characteristics of the ao dai, so the design was based on the spirit of respect for tradition. Ao dai made by Hanh Linh. The Ha Thanh-born girl expressed: “Ao Dai in some people can be too formal, too old, only for special occasions, it cannot be worn as everyday clothes. Therefore, I want to make ao dai which still keeps the characteristics of Vietnamese costumes but still remains young. An ao dai mixed with tradition and a little modern helps young people feel confident and comfortable to wear every day. That is what I aim for “. Being a student in economics, Hanh Linh admits her experience is built on what she sees and experiences. However, it is her love of drawing, coloring, shopping and viewing clothes and fabrics that has helped her to have a stable sense of color. This creates conditions for Linh in choosing and coordinating colors. During the work, she also had to learn more things in the garment sector, experimenting with materials, and carefully looking for Vietnamese clothes. “The outfit will look better if you are confident” Creating ideas, drawing what you like, choosing fabrics, cutting and sewing are the steps for Hanh Linh to make ao dai. She said she had to start over many times. Therefore, completion time depends on creativity and working mood. “I have a lot of ao dai. The traditional ao dai is discreet, the ao dai is a little more liberal to the youthful innovative ao dai. I have several styles in every style, from plain silk, linen, linen to fabric flowers, brocade … all colors, all styles. When I opened the Ao Dai shop myself, the number of Ao Dai increased rapidly, making me unable to count anymore, “Linh said. The 24-year-old girl also commented that ao dai is the most comfortable outfit to wear if you know the right materials to choose. Currently, Hanh Linh cannot count the number of ao dai she has. Hanh Linh used to think that she was too thin to wear well, and her skin was dark. But now, she is much more confident. “Any clothes will look better if you have the makeup that suits you as well as the outfit. The most important thing is to be confident,” she said. Ao dai is not only for people with a slim body. With overalls, girls who are slightly plump can try a more neutral tone or combine with a thin silk jacket to avoid exposing the biceps. As a girl with a slightly different hobby from her peers, Hanh Linh said that she simply wanted to share her love for ao dai with everyone. In Korea, China or Japan, it is not uncommon for traditional clothing to be worn on the street, so she wants to bring the ao dai to “weave” gradually on a young people’s normal day. “There are many young people who are very good at and try to preserve Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese dress segment is no exception. Even the proposal for male students to wear five-body shirts as uniforms is supported by young people. Good thing, “Hanh Linh expressed.

I see trees of green Red roses too I see them bloom For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world … When he woke up, Quang Sang (24 years old) reached for his phone and played a song. The melodious tune filled the apartment he rented for about 3 months. Lightly open the windows so that the wind can flow into the house. In the morning, you can hear the sound of traffic down the road, the nearby toad market or the kids in the house calling each other to go to school. Morning calls the sound of old houses is a charm that he cannot refuse. The boy ‘falls in love’ with the beauty of old houses Located on the 5th floor, Sang rented this dormitory for 5 million VND. He cleaned and decorated himself to create a living space according to his liking. To save money, Morning picks up old things wherever he can find from sofas, pictures or statues … “I quite like the repair and redecoration of the house. Maybe that’s why I think of something every day to do, ”said Sang, smiling. Not only living in a dormitory, he also rented two other apartments to trade in drinks in Hanoi. 9:30 am am present at my small coffee shop with Chau. Three years ago, with 1 million dong in hand, the two decided to borrow more money to open their own coffee shop. He was only 21 years old. Located on the 3rd floor of a dormitory, Sang’s shop doesn’t even have billboards. “The first days when I finished paying the rent, I got out of my pocket. Tables and chairs, decorations … are all begging. Occasionally, Chau and I would go to the street, even in the garbage dump, and bring good things to the shop ”, Sang recalled a difficult time before and recounted. With such old homes, getting them repaired before going into business usually takes a lot of time and money. But with Morning, to keep the breath of the houses, he chose not to interfere too much in that space. The only thing that Sang did when he arrived was to repair the electricity and water lines or widen a few windows to make the space more open. With Sang, the most difficult thing is how to keep a quiet space for the whole area. Understand that spirit, visitors to the shop always “go lightly, speak softly”. The bar space becomes a place to relax and enjoy the peace. So every day, in the morning, I will go to one of the two drinks to work and then return to my small room at the end of the day. “I have my own things in the noisy city, my heart is as quiet as the old house, that’s enough for me,” said Sang. Business in dormitory So far, business in the dormitory is no stranger. People have become accustomed to shops like Sang’s: without signs, hidden in old rooms. In 2012, Ms. Le Thuy Hanh (1992) had her first fashion store. All of them are clothes she designed and sewed and embroidered by herself. Hanh rented an old house and then renovated it to create a business space. Part of the wall is beaten most to change into a glass door, absorbing much light into the room. To avoid moldy because the house is old, Ms. Hanh fixed both the ceiling and the floor. “The hardest part about running a house with no signboard like this is that it’s hard for customers to find. But fortunately, one person spreads the word, my shop still welcomes new customers every day. Those were really interesting surprises, “shared Ms Hanh. On Sunday, the whole family of Kim Lien (31 years old) was present at the small store. This 80 m2 apartment is rented by her for 7 million VND / month. With the rent not too high and the large floor area, the dormitory becomes the ideal place for Ms. Lien’s small shop. Taking advantage of the light of the hallway, in her spare days, Ms. Lien displays her furniture, then takes pictures for her products. “I can’t stand the noise of vehicles, so doing business in the dormitory is quite suitable for me,” Lien said with a laugh. Due to the epidemic, the number of visitors to the store is not much, Ms. Lien sells mainly online. Having a day off, she let her two daughters out. The children were excitedly playing with her while Mrs. Lien and her husband were eager to clean up the store. During working days all day, she does not forget to bring some food and cook at work. Not far away is the electronics repair shop of Mr. Nguyen Dang Duyen (age 83). Tucked neatly in the basement of an old dormitory, Mr. Nguyen Dang Duyen’s workplace is sprawled with a fan, kettle, television, … After years of fighting in Quang Tri battlefield, veteran Nguyen Dang Duyen returned to his daily life like many other peaceful people. The entrance is only over 1 m wide, and there are no billboards, but one person tells the other, Duyen’s electric appliance repair shop is so crowded every day. He was provided by the government for an apartment of about 20 m2 on the 4th floor. So every day, Mr. Duyen went to the first floor to work, then went back to the house with his wife to eat and take care of the trees. “My work, my life is tied to this building. It was as old as me. We were just like that in the city, ”said Duyen happily. Not only doing business inside the apartment, but the yard is also used as a parking point. Parking in a dormitory is considered a relatively stable business. Because in order to keep the living space quiet, most families register to park the car with the service price of 200,000 VND / month. Life in the dormitory in the heart of the city After 1956, the dormitory model appeared for the first time in Hanoi. Until now, many people still choose this place to live, business … because of the cheap price and peaceful atmosphere that old houses bring in the heart of bustling Hanoi. The close golden walls, the yellow peeling paint, the rusted iron frame confirm the place of the dormitory’s timestamp. This has become a living and bonding place for many generations of families. “Peace and quiet” are two words that Mr. Do Quang Dai tells about the life of more than 30 years associated with the house in the Government Inspectorate on Van Bao Street. As a retired officer, in 1990, Mr. Dai was granted housing by the State. Since then, Mr. Dai and his wife and children have lived there. Later, his children got married, separated to live separately, sometimes sending his grandchildren to take care of them. Talking about the dormitory in Hanoi, Mr. Dai remembers the image of pots and green vegetables neatly planted and watered every day. And the laughter of children playing around, growing up in buildings has gone through those years of ups and downs. “The dormitory in the past is very valuable. Now it is outdated, the city is more modern, people love the comfort and the new”, Mr. Dai shared. But because he had been attached to the house for so long, he did not have the heart to move. In his free time, Mr. Dai recites a poem written about the old collective area of ​​poet Luu Quang Vu: “The house is only a few square meters, books are lined up next to the pot If you dream, you touch your hand to touch the barrel of rice Small wall box hangs pictures and hangs clothes I only have a few square yards for my happiness … ”

Hanoi’s collective quarters began to be built around 1957 of the last century (Collective A12 Khuong Thuong, 2018, painting by architect Pham Thanh Son) Each housing model has its advantages and disadvantages. On a more distant occasion, according to the writer of this article, the collective quarters of Hanoi began to be built around the 1950s of the last century. At that time, it was not only the residence of many families of cadres and civil servants, but also a great dream of many Hanoi people. Housing is always an urgent issue in big cities in the face of increasing demand from people to have a place to settle down. Many ideas and models of condominiums with many segments, depending on the income level of the people. Today’s apartments have many names, pure Vietnamese also have, some Westerners also have, but people are sometimes classified by just concepts: “Commercial apartment” and “Social apartment”. The more luxury an apartment is, the more the investor always tries to build around it a relatively complete ecosystem. That is also the criterion for many people to decide when to spend money to buy an apartment. But Hanoi also has many condominiums called “lonely apartments”. Loneliness is because only the building grows up, but there are no services or utilities around. There are also apartments that residents wittyly describe in humorous ways such as: Fixed location, harmonious yin and yang, peaceful neighbors … – That’s the way only apartments are built on the foundation. of old cemeteries or when looking out to the balcony is seen directly below the tomb stretching ahead. Collective E5B Trung Tu (Painting by architect Nguyen Hoang Lam) When in an apartment, the owner, although the owner of the house, is still governed by a community with its own principles. For example, if you want to put a drill on the wall of your house, you also have to ask for permission from the building management board, or to transport large and heavy things, you must also ask for a paper to show. There are also long-term relationships with neighboring residents. Someone said, the higher the apartment building, the more distant the relationship between residents in your building. In social condominiums, where residents are mainly low-income people, from many different localities, the structural community relationship becomes stronger. There or there are “hallway parties” all night long, thus increasing the connection between the apartments. Small residents in the same corridor sometimes act as “goodwill ambassadors”, serving as a bridge for fathers and mothers of families to bond together. “The apartment building is like a miniature society in which there are many classes of society with different jobs, occupations, and personalities. People were engaging in social relationships with people on the same floor and court almost every step of the way. Therefore, if reconciled, it becomes attached. If there is conflict, it is difficult to balance it ”. Journalist Ho Viet Thinh If comparing in many correlations, housing also has advantages that an apartment cannot have. In worrying about food safety and hygiene, homeowners can turn their rooftop into a place to raise chickens and grow clean vegetables to improve their meals. They can also decide to interfere with the structure of the house they are in without having to ask anyone for permission. Therefore, an apartment sometimes makes people think of it as an inn that one can own but is not authorized to decide in many respects. There is a story that a rural child went to the city to be told by his parents to his uncle’s whereabouts. The boy who looked at the large and beautiful apartment thought that the whole building belonged to his uncle, until he was engrossed in discovering that he realized where he lived was only a small corner of a large cube. Some of the funnier people in that situation happily said: All of these courts belong to me, but I didn’t live all the time so I left them for rent. Condominiums solve the urgent problems of big cities today in the face of the increasing demand of people when they want to have a place to settle down. The apartment building is like a miniature society in which there are many classes of society with different jobs, occupations, and personalities. People were involved in social relationships with people on the same floor and court almost every step of the way. Therefore, if reconciled, it becomes attached. If there is conflict, it is difficult to balance it. Like where I live, there are people who always want the building security guard to have absolute control over the strangers. Journalist Ho Viet Thinh They suggest, if the guest of a house, the host must go down to the hall to pick up, doing so both to ensure security and show hospitality. Another person reacts, if applying this principle, the host invites about 5 guests to come to play, each of them comes in a different time frame, the homeowner will be thousands of hard times. Other people are additional witty, it is best to go in groups. When the quantity is enough, call the landlord down to pick up once for convenience. Each person has their own reason, their own personality and needs to be reconciled.