It is basically a piece of cloth sown into a cylindrical tube, slipped over the head by men and stepped into by the women and tucked in at the waist. Men and women however fasten their longyis at the waist in different ways.
Men fold the garment into two panels and knot it neatly at waist level.
In olden days the knot was tied neatly and sported a triangular flap. For the ladies it is a wrap-around skirt tucked in at the side of the waist. It may be wrapped from right to left, which is more common, or from left to right, depending on the comfort of the wearer. But the ladies skirt has a plain black strip of cotton about 5 inches wide sewn and attached to the top part of the circular skirt. It helps to keep the longyi firmly in place especially if it is of silk or satin.