---
node: fashion_song
type: fashion
slug: song_dynasty_fashion
title: "Fashion in the Song dynasty"
lead: "Song dress turned to slender, restrained elegance under Neo-Confucian values: women wore the beizi, a long straight open-fronted jacket, in soft muted colors over a skirt."
published: 2026-07-28
updated: 2026-07-28
image_file: song_dynasty_fashion.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sitting_Portrait_of_Song_Dynasty_Empress_Xiang.jpg"
image_author: "Unknown (Northern Song dynasty)"
image_license: "Public domain"
change: "Published as a fashion sub-page under the history section, with a period image"
requester: internal
reason: "Per the owner's decision, fashion is no longer a standalone section but lives under each history era"
---

## Overview

The iconic garment was the beizi — a long, straight jacket, open down the front with side slits — worn over a skirt with narrow sleeves and understated colors. Officials wore round-collar robes with a flat, long-winged futou. Tang flamboyance gave way to refinement.

## Key garments and style

The custom of binding elite women's feet spread during the Song, reshaping women's gait and shoes for centuries to come.

## Transition

The Mongol Yuan would overlay its own steppe dress on this refined tradition.