服饰

• Pinyin: fú shì
• Hanzi breakdown: 服 = 月 + 卩 (body + kneeling person — to serve, to wear as a garment on the body); 饰 = 饣 + 人 + 巾 (adorn radical + person + cloth — to adorn, accessorise)

Meaning

Clothing and accessories; attire and adornment; the full ensemble of garments, ornaments, and dress.

服饰 is broader than 服装 (clothing alone), encompassing accessories and jewellery. 民族服饰 = ethnic or national costume. 服饰文化 = fashion and dress culture. 传统服饰 = traditional attire. Common in cultural, historical, and fashion discourse.

Examples

1. 展会上，各民族代表身着传统服饰登台展示，场面绚丽，令人感受中国文化多样性。 At the expo, representatives of different ethnic groups wore traditional clothing on stage, creating a vivid scene that highlighted China's cultural diversity.
2. 国风复兴带动汉服和传统服饰消费增长，年轻人也把它们穿进日常生活。 The revival of guofeng culture has boosted sales of hanfu and traditional clothing, and young people now wear them in daily life too.
3. 博物馆依据出土文物和古籍图像复原并展出秦汉至明清的代表性服饰。 Based on unearthed relics and ancient images, the museum reconstructed and displayed representative clothing from the Qin and Han through the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Usage Guide

Context: culture, history, fashion, ethnography

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 中国五十六个民族的传统服饰既是审美载体，也是历史记忆和文化认同的表达。(The traditional clothing of China's 56 ethnic groups is both a vehicle for aesthetics and an expression of historical memory and cultural identity.)
• 设计师转化文化元素时，应尊重传统服饰的深层意涵，再求创新，不可只堆图案。(When transforming cultural elements, designers should respect the deeper meaning of traditional clothing and then seek innovation, rather than just piling up patterns.)

Don't Say

• 服饰 and 服装 interchangeably when precision matters — 服装 refers specifically to garments or clothing as a category; 服饰 encompasses the broader dress culture including accessories and ornaments, making it more appropriate in cultural or ethnographic contexts

Origin & History

服 (clothing; garment; to wear) + 饰 (adornment; decoration; accessories) — clothing and its accompanying adornments

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal