The Costumes of the Miao People

One of the special folk arts of the Miao people is their bright costumes. These are mostly made by women through spinning, weaving, cross-stitching, brocading, wax printing, and sewing. They are divided into everyday clothes and holiday best. For these special occasions, the women all wear silver decorations and present a truly dazzling appearance.

In the costumes of these minorities, men's dresses are simple while women's are bustling. Men's dresses are divided into two types: symmetrical short gowns and left-buttoned long gowns. Young and mid-aged males mainly wear symmetrical short gowns while old males wear long gowns. Their heads are wrapped with black long cloth. Trousers are usually of wide bottom. Women's dresses are divided into right-buttoned short gowns and front-crossed gowns, each having various kinds of common costumes and holiday best. There are man differences of costumes among the Miao women: in some areas women wear long pleated skirts, in some areas women wear short pleated skirts, in some areas women wrap their head with triangle towels and in some areas women twine their hair with hairpins.