Theatrical costumes and tools in Suzhou are all-encompassing in content, and Suzhou has found itself capable of producing over 1,000 types of costumes and tools which fall into six categories, including clothes, helmets and caps, boots and shoes, headgear, beards, and swords, spears and halberds.

Besides the rich varieties, Suzhou costumes and tools are noted for their refined coloring, and vivid decorative patterns and exuding sense of strong aesthetical appeal. They are handmade piece by piece, and every piece of costume requires unlimited patience and care in sewing and embroidering. Theatrical costumes can be decorated with embroidered golden and silver silk, making them resplendent and magnificent in color. More traditional Chinese patterns are embroidered, and light colors are used to show the simple but elegant style typical of Suzhou.

Suzhou theatrical costume and tool-making embodies Chinese culture, art, and history. Artistically it combines painting, literature, coloring, embroidering, and sewing as well. However, many unfavorable factors, like the aging of practitioners, the decreasing number of skilled workers, and the recession in traditional Chinese operas, stand in the way of passing down traditional techniques. This gloomy situation calls for urgent protection of this folk handicraft.