The basic garment for both men and women is the del or caftan. This is a long coat-like garment with a characteristic overflap in front. Mongolian dels always close on the wearer's right, and traditionally have five fastenings. Modern dels often have decoratively cut overflaps, small round necklines, and sometimes "mandarin" collars. Depictions of Mongols during the time of the empire, however, show dels with more open necklines, no collars, and very simply cut overflaps, similar to the dels still worn by lamas in modern Mongolia. An example of this style del is shown below in a portrait of Khubilai Khan taken from a painting in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.

Women's garments were often longer than those of the men, particularly at the imperial court, where they were floor-length and might even have a train.. Below is a sketch of a hypothesized reconstruction of a court lady's del from the time of Khubilai Khan, based on similar drawings in 5000 Years of Chinese Costume (San Francisco, 1987). The full sleeve is unusual and probably particular to women's court dress; most dels past and present have long straight sleeves. Sleeves tended to be cut very long so they could be pulled down over the hands in cold weather. The "horsehoof" cuff now sometimes seen on dels is inappropriate for Yuan period dress; the style seems to be derived from Manchurian influence and does not appear before the seventeenth century.

In terms of construction, a del is no harder to make than a simple European tunic. In fact a tunic pattern can easily be adapted to make a del, if the front of the tunic is cut in two pieces and an overflap is attached. Below is a simple schematic for a del pattern. Chinese silks, wool and cotton are appropriate materials, preferably in bright colours. The Mongols are especially fond of bright red and sky blue, and although yellow garments are now restricted to lamas, there is evidence that yellow was worn by ordinary people during the period of the empire.

In addition to the del, both men and women might wear loose trousers beneath, and women might also wear underskirts. Skirts of the same style are still worn in part of Mongolia and China today; they have plain front and back panels with closely pleated side panels. Folkwear Pattern 115, if you can find it, makes a skirt of the correct type. Men and unmarried women wear brightly coloured sashes over their dels.

Paintings of Mongols from Persian and Chinese sources show men and sometimes women wearing their hair in braids. The hair would be divided into two pigtails, each of which would be divided into three braids. The ends of the braids would then be looped up and bound to the top of the braid behind the ears. Men also shaved the tops and sides of their heads, usually leaving only a short "forelock" in front and the long hair behind. The famous boqtaq headdress worn by women seems to have been restricted to married women of very high rank.

The shape of the boot worn by both sexes has not changed significantly since the time of the empire, although the extremely pointed toes seen on some modern boots do not appear (to my knowledge) in period depictions. The "kung fu boots" sold in some martial arts supply shops also have the correct shape.