Women's traditional dress

Men's clothes have no obvious difference with Hans' living around them since the 1940's, and women's clothes and adornments have kept distinctive national features till now. The "Suijia cloth"(or Jiuqian black cloth) woven by Sui women has delicate and well-distributed yarn, and the dyed color of black, blue and green are deep, thorough and wash well, which has been widely known since one hundred years ago. According to legend, the original creation of craft and skills for printing and dying with soya-bean milk by the Suis have had a history of more than 700 years, and articles printed and dyed in this way are deeply loved by common people.

Clothes of the Sui women are mostly sewed with Suijia cloth, which is mid-length gown with wide front and has no collar or long gown. Long gown covers knees and usually has no embroidered lace. Rich dress in festivals and wedding dress are totally different from common dress. Shoulders, cuffs of the sleeves and knees of trousers are inlaid with embroidered flowery strips, and there are colorful designs on the scarf. Wearing silver hat on head, silver neckband round the neck, silver bracelet round wrists, silver plate on breast, silver earrings and embroidered shoes on feet, the bride is gorgeously dressed and has an elegant and smart carriage. Besides, string embroidered by women is more artistic. The "string" is actually a piece of "T"-shaped "curtain" embroidered very magnificently with two girdles on both ends of the upper edge and it is big enough to wrap children. It is sewed with white horse tail twined with white silk thread and other colors of silk threads are added into it, too. Firstly different designs are embroidered separately and the string is made by piecing together the embroidered designs on cloth. The string is beautiful and useful, and is the best present sent by mother to daughter who gets married.

Sui women before marriage like to make informal dress-long gown with light blue, green or gray cloth, and their upper garment is mostly made of silk and satins. The body and the sleeves are tighter than before which appear next to the skin, agile and accentuates women's graceful figure. They wear embroidered long gown and wrap black or white long scarf, which is simple but elegant, gentle and quiet. A line of blue edge is inlaid on the cuffs, around the shoulders and around the bottom of trousers leg as decorations for the married women. Their long hair is combed and coiled at the top of the head, which is fixed with a comb inserted from the right side of the coil. Some women tie a white girdle out of the scarf and some wrap head with square scarf with colorful checks, which is traditional and can yet be regarded as being fashionable.

Good neighbor of the Miaos and the Dongs------the Suis <<
Ceremonies and customs in marriage >>