Nowadays, travelling Myanmar in common vacation, you usually see the Paso and Longyi. Paso is a piece of smooth cloth or striped fabric for men while Longyi is a flowered material for women, basically about 2 meters in length and 80 cm in width. The cloth is often sewn into a cylindrical shape and worn around the waist, running to the feet, held in place by folding fabric over without a knot. Sometimes, it is also folded up to the knee for comfort. In fact, Paso and Longyi do not have much significant deference in form, but they are not unisex attire. The way people wear as well as the patterns and makeup distinguish Paso and Longyi. Men wear Paso by making a fold on either side in front and tucking them together at the waist just below the navel. Women, on the other hand, always have a 3 cubit 1 finger span length but again unsewn in the old days like men’s. They are worn wrapped around with a single broad fold in front and the end tucked in on one side or the other at the waist. More interestingly, Paso and Longyi can be used as a rain coat or wrapped in form of a solid cap for women to carry goods on their head without a hand-holding. In some areas, women even use Longyi to carry their children when going to work as a hammock. Traditional Longyi and Paso do not allow wearers to move in a long footstep, but the wrapping way can be changed to run comfortably.
