There are many branches of the Yi minority group, so the costumes in different places vary. The costumes are unique and full of beautiful things. The women usually wear embroidered clothes, the necklines of which have silver flowers. They like to wrap their heads and wear ear-rings. Most Yi women in Yunnan wear trousers, except the ones who live in Xiao Liang Mountain who usually wear skirts. Some trousers have exquisite lace at the bottom. The clothes of the married women have beautiful lace on the cuff and necklines, especially the embroidery on the waist, which is glossy.
The maids in the center and south of Yunnan usually wear vivid cockscomb hats with red tassels and beads. Those that live in mountainous areas used to wear sheepskins, which looked like capes and were plaited of wool and were generally dark black. The girls before the age of 15 years wear skirts of red and white and have ponytails. At the age of 15, they have a ceremony called Sha La Luo, which means changing the skirts and wearing two plaits. It is the sign that the girls have become mature. After 15 years old, the girls wear a long dress, which is black in the middle and start wearing shiny earrings. Boys wear black clothes and keep their hair about three inches long. They usually wear beards because they think it looks good. They also like to wear yellow or red beads strung with red string on their ears.
