Hats and shoes for children in China are embellished with embroidered symbols to promote the health and longevity of their offspring. Originally hats for children were designed primarily for physical protection. Auspicious symbols were used to decorate the hats and shoes for children in an attempt to ward off high mortality rates. This pairing of physical and spiritual protection provides us with visual delight that articulates aspects of Chinese cosmology.

Decorated hats and shoes were primarily designed for boys, who benefited from a deep-seated cultural preference for male heirs. There are several distinct styles of Chinese hats. The first month hat is the most simple. A strip of red satin or cotton is gathered into a circle at the top with a center back seam. It is embroidered with flowers or fruit, symbolizing long life and good fortune. The open crown hat is similar to the first month hat except that the crown is completely open. It is decorated with the forms of animals such as tigers and dogs. Often there is a padded tail hanging off of the back. The dog head hat is a plain style worn for warmth. It is a simple hat, embellished with dog's ears. The wind hat is like a dog head hat with the addition of a back flap which covers the neck. Wind hats are heavily embroidered and still popular. The tiger hat originated in northern China and looks just like a tiger's head. A scholar hat is made out of black satin and embroidered with bats, flowers and religious symbols. It is designed primarily for future success, in the hope that a boy will do well during his exams. The skull cap, also made out of black satin is constructed of six segments which are attached to a stiff brim. It is topped with a red button or pom pom and often has false hair hanging down the back.

The tiger is one of the most predominant symbols on hats and shoes. It's ferocious powers make it an especially popular protective image. The tiger is used to frighten off evil spirits and to help a toddler learn how to walk. Cat images are also popular. The homonym for butterfly in Chinese means longevity, so butterflies are embroidered on hats and shoes to wish for a long life as well as happiness. Pairs of butterflies symbolize marital bliss. The homonym for bat means happiness in Chinese. Bats are also depicted for good luck, blessings and prosperity. The lotus is a sacred Buddhist flower. Almost every part of the flower has some use. Its beautiful petal are attached to a stem and roots that are grounded in the muck of the earth. This transcendental plant symbolizes marital harmony and fertility. Pigs are a symbol of wealth (Chinese children use piggy banks too) and fertility. These are embroidered on shoes to avert misfortune. Positive meanings are attached to fish, whose homonym relates to plenty and jade. Fish symbolize happiness, good luck and abundance. Images of the eight immortals are often used to decorate hats for Chinese children. These superior human spirits lived at various times and attained immortality by studying the secrets of nature. Each of the immortals has magical powers and represents different conditions in life, such as poverty, wealth, aristocracy, etc. They represent high, noble character and vast spirit. The eight immortals are often stamped out of sheets of silver or brass. Bells appear on Chinese hats to make noise and scare off evil spirits. Mobile pom poms often appear on bendable springs attached to hats as an additional protective element and also to provide entertainment for bouncing babies.

Textiles decorated with embroidery and mirrors, called shisha, are a hallmark of Indian handiwork. While the exact history of embroidered mirror work is not known, it appears to be related to the ancient custom of sewing metallic plates or spangles onto clothing. The Mahabarata, compiled circa 800 - 700 B.C. refers to a garment that was fringed with pearls and Persians and Afghans decorated their clothing with gold medallions. Shisha could also be a continuation of the habit of using gold and jewels to decorate textiles. People in the state of Gujarat, India, adjacent to Pakistan, create the mirrors and use them to embellish their textiles. A shishger, or mirror maker, makes glass which is broken down into chunks. They are sorted by their size and quality and then shipped to others who cut, trim and distribute the tiny mirrors to women who round the corners off of the small squarish shapes. Girls are trained to embroider with mirrors at an early age. Embroidery is a significant part of a girl's dowry and is used for festival blouses, skirts, veils and a boy's first outfit. Shisha embroidery is used on the headpiece for a camel ridden by a groom during his ritual arrival at the bride's home as well as worn by the groom himself as a sash or a chin wrap during the wedding. The mirrors are used to deflect the evil eye. In the desert, the flash of the mirrors create a light similar to the sun's rays hitting a body of water. Mirrors are also associated with vitality, magical protection, beauty, the mystical, as well as being a reflection of reality.

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