Costuming is an area of comparative resemblance across xiqu genres. Specific Chineselanguage resources for kunqu exist (Liu Yuemei 2010), though at present English resources are limited to work on jing ju costuming, which however features considerable overlap with kunqu. Xiqu costumes generally do not reflect differences between historical eras (nor do they reflect any given period's historical dress accurately) so audiences can clearly perceive a character's role type but not their historical period. Seasons and Chinese regions are also mostly invisible in costuming, although status, wealth, rank, ethnicity, and the martial/civil binary of repertoire are very clear. Although there are accepted costuming practices for each role type, it is common for mature actors to make alterations for aesthetic or practical purposes.

Robes and trousers

• • Court robe (mang 蟒) is the most formal and high-status garment.

• • Official robe (guanyi 官衣) is used by male characters of middling rank.

• • Pi robe (pi or pei 帔) is used by imperial characters and high officials. While the court robe is fastened at the side, the pi robe is fastened at the center front. An informal robe is often worn underneath the pi robe.

• • Informal robe (xuezi 褶子) is side-fastened and principally used by young scholars. For lower-status characters, it may be a somber, unpatterned robe called a dark robe (qingshan 青衫). Serving characters may wear a shorter, even more informal robe called a tea robe (chayi 茶衣), so called because it may be worn by a serving lad in a teahouse.

• • Armor (kao 靠) is used by martial figures. Hard armor ( yingkao 硬靠) has four pennants on the back while soft armor (ruankao 軟靠) does not and is therefore is more convenient for dynamic choreography.

• • Archer's robe ( jianyi 箭衣), apparently of Manchu origin, is a less formal military garment than armor, used for a variety of characters (Bonds 2019, 142–43).

• • Colored trousers (caiku 彩裤) are unembroidered cotton trousers. They are usually worn underneath robes or armor but are sometimes visible.

• • Water sleeves (shuixiu 水袖) are extended white sleeves attached to robes, though lower-class or martial characters typically do not use them.