Overview
Officials took up the round-collar robe (yuanlingpao), a practical form shaped by earlier northern and foreign dress, with rank marked by color. Women wore the short jacket over a high-waisted long skirt — the ruqun that would define the age to come.
Key garments and style
By reuniting north and south, the Sui merged their dress traditions into a single court standard.
Transition
The Tang turned this framework into one of history’s most open and cosmopolitan fashions.