New clothing shops in Ho Chi Minh City are holding their own against famous international brands, with new collections being snatched up by the city's style-conscious.

Designers for May in Love and Ivory, two brand names owned by Entiati, a private fashion company opened in 2011, combine simplicity and practicality at their shop on Nguyen Trai street in District 1.

They use only black and white on silk and taffeta for their latest collection titled The Total Lady.

With more than 50 designs every season, the shop's items sell from 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND (10-25 USD).

"I like designs by Entiati because they make women more beautiful and trendy. Additionally, their prices are reasonable for their high-quality," said regular customer Hoang Thi Thu Huyen.

She said a skirt from Ivory was 350,000 VND (16 USD) but a similar product was over 1 million VND (50 USD) at a foreign shop.

Limited edition items labelled "Jen by Nguyen" in District 3's Huynh Tinh Cua street provide a taste of global fashion trends.

Highlighted designs are on traditional materials like lace and voile.

The shop's high-end clothes are pricey, over 1.2 million VND (60 USD), but customers with deep pockets are thrilled that sophisticated designs can now be found at a Vietnamese fashion house.

Other fashion shops have also upgraded their goods. Novelty and Dep Fashion offer casual and office wear collections for men and women.

While Novelty's popular clothing line starts at 200,000 VND (10 USD), Dep Fashion's customers should be prepared to pay 1-2 million VND (50-100 USD) per item.

In their collection called Dancing in the Night, Dep Fashion uses silk and satin to highlight the traditional beauty of women who will look charming in white, cream and purple pink.

Novelty uses cotton and khaki, and embroidery in hot colours, such as orange, banana green and green, to launch a trend of simple and high-end styles.

A full range of accessories of handbags, scarves and jewellery made by local craftspeople are also offered.

To satisfy the needs of the market in the year-end season, domestic brand names are also spending more to grab the attention of customers. They have also worked to ensure their services and promotions are the best for customers.

According to a representative of Novelty, the shop plans to launch a shopping online service next month.

"We believe in our future," she said.-VNA