The "wasteful" trousers are made of nylon or cloth. Most women wear loose trousers with red or blue plastic belts. Married women hang anywhere from one to eight silver threads on their belts, the closer to eight, the better. The trousers are designed with a small waistline and a broad hipline, beautiful and easy to work in.

Some of the elder women have gold teeth, but the custom is fading in younger generations. In earlier times, Hui'an women would wear heavy headpieces that weighed up to 10 kg, long jackets and veils to cover their faces.

Hui'an women's clothing is such an unusual mix that scholars have tried to trace each article's origins. The bamboo hats are similar to those worn by the Li and Jing ethnic groups. The short jacket can be traced to the Dai people, and the trousers are very similar to those worn by the Shui people. Because Hui'an women twist their hair into a "butterfly" style for festivals, some believe they have also had historical connections with the Baiyue people, who used butterfly symbols on their ancient totems.

In the 1940s Hui'an women's style began to change. Jackets were shortened, and it became popular to use black cloth to wrap up their hair, both of which made it easier for women to work. In the Great Leap Forward in 1958, Hui'an women gathered together to build a reservoir. To protect themselves from the wind and rain, they took cues from women of other villages and copied their kerchiefs and bamboo hats. As their jackets got shorter, their belts, which carry silver threads and other goods that show a married woman's wealth or status, became more visible.

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