Women in the water town Luzhi have their traditional wear recognized as national-level intangible cultural heritage

    As one of the brightest spots to endorse the water town Luzhi, the things that women of Luzhi wear were officially recognized as the "national-level intangible cultural heritage" on 25 April.

    Bun-style hair, a piece of headcloth, collage-style jacket and pants, tight-lap skirt, embroidered shoes, the special outfit can still be found on some country women in Luzhi nowadays. In the past, these women often struck town residents as Suzhou's ethnic minority when they went to town in their distinctive clothes.  

    It is however the local costume that has been appealing to numerous Luzhi-goers from home and abroad. The unique piece-together sewing technique inspired Luzhi into applying for the national-level intangible cultural heritage, thus making the women's dress a significant symbol of Luzhi and its culture.  

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    Suzhou water village wear

    The country women living to the east of Suzhou Walled City in the vicinity of Luzhi, Shengpu, Weiting and Lumu have retained their traditional folk attire. Featured by bun-style hair, headcloth, collage-style jacket and pants, tight-lap skirt and embroidered shoes, the special water village clothing won them such reputation as Suzhou's ethnic minority.  

    Women in the water villages are apt to show their dexterity and beauty by proper decoration. Their clothes and accessories are characterized with strong local flavor and passed on in a stable fashion, but they do have variants to suit different seasons, ages and etiquette.  

    Generally speaking, the spring and autumn version boasts most remarkable characteristics. This version consists of piece-together jacket and pants.

    The jacket is mostly made of fancy cloth, coarse cloth and indanthrene cloth of different shades, with sharply contrasted colors collaged together; the pants are in most cases made of print cloth with a crutch of blue or black indanthrene cloth sewn onto it.

    The exquisite techniques of decoration such as collage, piped edge, plait, girdle, embroidery, etc. prove to be the spring and autumn suit's typical ornaments. 

    The water village dress has distinct styles for women of different ages. The clothes for young women are neatly cut and cleverly colored so that they catch eyes with a flowery style, while those for middle-aged and senior women are of deeper shades and comfortably cut to present simplicity and decency.

    The water village women's wear has survived a long history into a living tradition, and it does evolve as time goes by, shaping up aesthetic values endemic to the water villages.

    The working people have over the