A Brief History of Mongolia's Ethnic Groups
A 2020 study found that Mongolia has 30 ethnic groups, with the Khalkh making up 83.8% of the entire popullation. Next in number are the Kazakh, Dörvöd, Buriad, and Bayad ethnic groups.
Other ethnic groups include Zakhchin, Dariganga, Uriankhai, Darkhad, Torguud, Ööld, Khoton, Myangad, Barga, Üzemchin, Kharchin, Tsakhar, Khotgoid, Eljigen, Tsaatan, Sartuul, Tuva, Kharchin, Khalimag, Khorchin, Tümed, Sönöd, Khamnigan, Khoshuud, Tüved, Balba, among others. Although each ethnic group’s clothing style differs, as Mongols, their purpose and construction do not vary greatly.
First and foremost, let us highlight the clothing and accessories of the Khalkh ethnic group, which fully represents Mongolia’s traditional deel and clothing culture, as Khalkh people make up the core of the Mongolian population.
Khalkh Ethnicity
The Khalkh people historically performed the role of the “khalkh” (shield) that defended Mongolia from foreign invasions, they came to be called “Khalkh.” From the 15th century onward, the Khalkh were one of the six major divisions that comprised Eastern Mongolia. They later became the primary ethnic group making up the population of present-day Mongolia.
From 1691 onward, the Khalkh became part of Mongolia’s “Outer Administration,” and by the late 19th century, the Manchus and Chinese had replaced the term “Outer Administration” with “Outer Mongolia.” In December 1911, noblemen primarily from the Khalkh led the revolution that declared Mongolia’s independence and seceded from the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The modern nation of Mongolia is based on the Khalkh population and territory of ancient times.
Khalkh Clothing and Accessories
Hats
A hat is a highly regarded article of clothing in Mongolian society that expresses one’s status. Khalkh hats are categorized by season, special occasion, as well as by whether they are for men, women, or children. By style, they are called seeten chikht, möömän oroit, toortsog oroit, duulga oroit, tug oroit, etc. By the type of hide or material used, they are called khurgan (lamb), ishgen (kid), ünegen (fox), bulgan (mink), khaliun (sable), and so on. In most cases, the crown of the hat is made high and rounded, with a number of stitched segments fanning out like the rays of the sun indicating which ethnic group the wearer belongs to. A red tassel is attached to the top of the hat, with two red strips hanging down the back. The most common hats are loovuz, yüden, toortsog, khilen, byalzuukhai, bünkher oroit, erguuleg malgai, among others. In total, Mongolians have made and worn more than 200 types of hats in various shapes, styles, and names.
From ancient times to the present, Mongolians have deeply respected their hats, regarding them as noble attire. If someone accidentally stepped on a hat, it was immediately picked up with the right hand and ritually passed through fire for purification. Hats must always be placed above other clothing and belts. They are never placed facing upward. Any formal or respectful occasion requires the wearing of a hat. It is considered taboo to wear someone else’s hat or allow someone else to wear yours. Wearing a hat backwards is likened to that of a condemned criminal about to be executed. Wearing the hat of a bad person is believed to bring misfortune; losing your hat is considered the same as forgetting your head. If you find a lost hat on the road, you do not pick it up. Hats are never stacked on top of each other, as it is believed to cause a divided mind or foreshadow remarriage. Even today, such traditions persist, and among Mongolians, especially men, hats continue to be held in high esteem.
Khalkh Men's Deel
A Mongolian deel is a garment with an angled or square collar and a turned-over opening, either diagonal or rectangular, with two slits at the sides. It has remained mostly unchanged in design for many centuries. Besides simply being clothing, the deel also serves various other purposes. For instance, the wide cuffs can be used as padding or mittens, while the broad sash is tied around the waist to protect the lower back and kidneys. Moreover, Mongolians can drape the deel over themselves as a blanket when traveling.
During warm seasons, people wear dan terleg, davkhar terleg, khamba, ilgen, or odonchuu deels. In cold weather, they wear cotton-padded deels, segsüürgen deels, sarmay sheepskin, azargan sheepskin, goatskin, lambskin, raccoon, fox, wolf, rabbit, or gazelle-skin deels. Additionally, during the cold season, people sometimes wear coats made of goat, dog, wolf, or bear skins over their deel.
Khalkh men wear a deel with buttons on the right side, a square, spacious collar, a standing neckline, a blue interior lining, cuffs, wide and long sleeves, and a back skirt longer than the front skirt. The main items of Khalkh men’s clothing include the deel, khurem (jacket), khantaaz (vest), belt, boots, hat, and trousers. Men’s clothing is similar in style to women’s clothing but is much simpler. Also, unmarried women used to wear plain deels.
Researchers have classified Mongolian deels into three types. First, there is the deel with narrow, long sleeves, a diagonal closure to the right, and a long skirt, worn with a toilt belt. The skirt of the deel is ornamented with dragon motifs or other patterns. In winter, to protect themselves from the cold, people wore a “dodik,” an additional covering over the shoulders. According to Chinese historical records, Mongols wore an over-shoulder covering made of mink over the deel. A human stone statue dressed in a similar garment was found in Delgerkhaan Soum, Khentii Province.
Second, there is a long-sleeved deel and an outer garment of similar length but with short sleeves above the elbows and slits on both sides, worn over it. Overall, it is similar to how Mongolian women wear a tsegdeg or uuj over their deel.
Third, there is a deel that is the same as an ordinary deel—narrow sleeves, a long skirt—but without a collar or lapel, featuring a completely closed front. In other words, it had no overlapping front, just a solid rectangular opening with multiple pleats or folds. This type of deel dates to the Yuan Dynasty. Although a closed-front deel might have suited harsh climates, it did not become widespread among Mongolians.
Belt
In the medieval period, Mongolians wore narrow leather belts with metal studs over their deel. They would wrap broad cloth of a different color than the deel’s primary color around the waist in many folds. Wrapping a wide belt around the waist was a common practice to prevent abdominal strain when riding a horse for extended periods. Later, it became narrower with multiple sewn pleats and a drawstring on one side to adjust tension. Deels with such belts date to the Yuan Dynasty. Examples have been discovered in Muumyangan Banner in Inner Mongolia, and in Bukhiin Khoshuu in Delgerkhaan Soum of Khentii Province in Mongolia.
Khalkh Women’s Deel
Among the Khalkh, preparations for a bride’s complete outfit and adornment began from the moment their daughter’s hand was requested in marriage. That clothing was then worn on the wedding day, signifying her new status as a married woman. A married woman’s deel has narrow, long sleeves with broad, rigid shoulders. It is stiffened with reed-shaped supports, felted paperboard, or camel wool, which is stuffed to make them puffed up. The sleeves are decorated with colorful strips of silk ribbon. The rigid, high shoulders and long sleeves of the deel are typically made with brightly colored silk. The shape of the cuffs on a married woman’s deel is referred to as tsombon tuurai (cup-like hooves) or delben tuurai (petal-like hooves). Younger women wear tsombon cuffs, while older women use delben cuffs.
In ancient times, Mongolian married women wore bogtog hats with tall crowns, and hair parted into two braids contained in covers (üsnij ger). During the 17th century, some ethnic groups such as the Myangad and Khalkh began styling their hair into a wide arrangement. Initially, this was done with one’s own hair, but since it was difficult to maintain, animal hair or wool was often used instead. As hair was arranged to stand out widely, various items such as head wraps, clips, and hair covers became more widely used, causing changes to the deel as well, including the introduction of a square collar and puffed shoulders. The Khalkh women’s head wrap is descended from the ancient bogtog hat.
Uuj
Over their deel, Khalkh wives wore a sleeveless garment called an uuj, which has an open front running straight down. An uuj is as long as a deel, with side slits slightly shorter than those of the deel. Uujs are categorized as ceremonial or everyday and also distinguished by length—either chest-length or full-length. The uuj is a formal garment for the mistress of the household, typically made from cloth different in color than that of the deel, with wide silk trimming around its edges and collar.
Jewelry and Adornments
Besides special occasion clothing, Mongolian men also showed off with decorated saddles and bridles, elegantly carved or bone- and silver-inlaid whips, long beautiful lasso poles (uurch, bugul), elaborately made silver knives (khet), flint and steel sets, pipes with jade or agate mouthpieces, precious stone snuff bottles (khöörög), silver bowls, and gold or silver rings.
A Khalkh woman’s adornments consist of her deel, uuj, head wrap, hair cover, hair clip, front clasp (enguuriin guu), necklace, earrings, and rings. These items were crafted from gold, silver, coral, and pearls. The top portion of the woman’s head wrap would be open if she was a commoner and covered with a horol (endless knot) design if she was a queen or noblewoman. Such head wraps weigh about 5–6 kilograms.
Trousers
In earlier times, trousers were made by taking well-tanned sheepskin, folding it along the back, and cutting leg sections to shape. Russian historian L. N. Gumilev noted that Mongolians, living in an extreme climate, were the first to invent trousers. The Japanese writer Shiba Ryotaro also mentioned that in ancient China (during the Zhao state), Prince Wuling urged his people to learn from the northern nomads’ military tactics and clothing, saying, “Let us wear trousers like the nomads in the north.” Mongolian trousers are wide in the crotch to accommodate horse riding and come with a drawstring waist.
Boots
Scholar Kh. Perlee wrote that the oldest type of Mongolian footwear was made from the hide of animals such as gur (roe deer) and göröös (various deer). Ancient forms like godon boots, sock-like boitog, and khömön boots have survived to the present day. Felt boitog are made either by cutting, sewing, and stitching felt, or by felting sheep’s wool into a sock-like shape. Khömön boots made from animal hide include a piece extending around the ankle called the tanaas. This design gave rise to the development of the boot shaft and upper part, eventually leading to a design in two sections—boot shaft and top cover. Because the design and craftsmanship of khömön boots developed over time, we consider them the origin of today’s Mongolian boots.
In ancient times, the toe of Mongolian boots was slender, and the edge of the sole was dyed red. Because society then was prone to war, with tribes battling for centuries, researchers say that the sharp, pointed form might symbolize swords and other weapons. Boots from the medieval period, evidencing how Mongolian footwear looked back then, have been discovered in the Chita region of Russia, as well as in Tsagaan Chuluut in Gurvanzagal Soum of Dornod Province, Sharag Uul in Asgat Soum of Sükhbaatar Province, Shiveet in Ongon Soum, and Khüiten Khoshuu in Delgerkhaan Soum of Khentii Province, among other places.
Those boots are decorated with bat or winglike patterns, made from hide, and dyed red, black, yellow, and other colors. This shows that the practice of dyeing leather in various colors and advanced hide-processing techniques were widespread. The soles were layered and finely stitched, demonstrating that boot-making was well developed even then. In the 16th century, the introduction of Yellow Buddhism (Gelug school) into Mongolia brought about changes to Mongolian boots, giving rise to the upturned toe to avoid harming insects. Mongolian boots are easy to put on and take off, convenient for riding horses and placing feet in the stirrups, protective for the feet when lassoing livestock, well-suited for traveling on rough terrain, durable, warm, waterproof, and comfortable—qualities that continue to serve modern-day herders and Mongolian wrestlers, who still wear this ancient design.
Mongolia has about 20 types of boots across more than 20 ethnic groups. Because each group’s traditions and habitats differ, so do their boot designs. Uriankhai’s maiga, Khalkh’s eeten, Torguud’s tookhuu, Darkhad Tsaatan’s godon, Buriad’s sharkhi, söökhii, and more are among the many types. Mongolian boots generally come in three main varieties: round-soled, upturned-toe (eeten), and yawuut eeten (slightly angled upturned toe). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the style that became most widespread across the Khalkh was the “Mongol boot.” Mongolian boots consist of a quilted felt sole, quilted toe, shaft, upper portion, and side flaps. They can have anywhere from four to 32 ornamental “loops” (ugalz). The more loops, the more ornate and valuable the boot.
Other Main Ethnic Groups
Today, only a few Mongolian ethnic groups have preserved their own distinct traditional clothing culture. Most commonly, they don their ethnic attire, featuring unique design elements, during major national festivals and celebratory events such as weddings. Let us highlight some examples.
Buriad Ethnicity
The Buriad Mongols are one of Mongolia’s major ethnic groups. Their ancestors were ancient forest-dwelling hunter-gatherers who lived around Lake Baikal. Prior to the 13th century, Mongol-speaking tribes like the Khor Tumeds who lived beyond Baikal up to the valley of the Lenga (Lena) River, and the Bargud of Bargujin Tokhom along Baikal, settled there. Nowadays, Buriad Mongols live in Khentii, Dornod, and Selenge Provinces of Mongolia, as well as in Russia’s Irkutsk and Chita regions, and in New Barag Right Banner (Shinehen) in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia.
Buraid Clothing and Accessories
Hats
Buriads wear a conical hat called khasabish. The front of the hat is longer, the back conforming to the shape of the head, with a brim that can be turned down in cold weather or flipped up in warm weather. From the peak, tassels resembling rays extend in four or eight directions, and the hat is trimmed all around. Other styles include the khaliu, bulgan hat, hats with earflaps, toirobshi hats, hats with a zalaa jinste, etc.
Deel
Buriad men’s deel is decorated with three colors on the front. Because they have experienced a lot of hardship, the three colors symbolize this: the middle section is black (representing suffering), the top is white (representing that they will not suffer again), and the bottom is red (symbolizing blood). The sleeve hems are edged with black fabric.
Married Buriad women’s deel collars are finely trimmed; the outside lapels are bordered with dark or black material. The shoulder is gathered in pleats, and a decorative band called buluuvch is inserted into the sleeve, creating folds. The neatness of the pleats is an indicator of craftsmanship. The deel has one button at the collar, two on the front, and one under each arm. A Buriad married woman’s deel has decorative features like tataakhan and möshgöökhen ribbons.
Boots
There are boots called godokhon made of venison hide and a separate piece called sharkhi for the ankles. Buriad boots are made from leather such as buligar, hide, khöm, etc. The toe is trimmed and decorated with buligar. Felt boots are pulled up and fastened with straps running to the belt. Buriads call the top edge of the boot zulag, the stiffeners havchaar, and the sole irmeg. Leather or hide is treated with a brown solution made from black tree bark, after which decorative patterns are added.
Kazakh Ethnicity
Kazakhs are a Turkic people. The Kazakhs of Mongolia originally came not from the region of present-day Kazakhstan but from Xinjiang. In the mid-19th century, they resided from the slopes of the Altai Mountains toward Xinjiang, crossing the Altai in summer to graze in Uriankhai lands and then migrating back south across the Altai in autumn. They lived around the sources of the Bukhtarma River and Irtysh River in Xinjiang.
Kazakhs migrated to Xinjiang and Mongolia in several waves from the 18th to the 20th century. Some arrived in Xinjiang in the 18th century, while others fled the Russian army’s expansion in the 19th century, again taking refuge in Xinjiang. Many more fled to Mongolia following the suppression of the Uyghur rebellion by Manchu forces in the 19th century.
Kazakh Clothing and Accessories
Because Kazakhs practice Islam, their clothing is closely connected to religious customs. Kazakh men wear a black-colored, coat-like outer garment. Their trousers often feature Kazakh ornamental motifs.
Kazakh women wear wide-flaring dresses in white or yellow. They also wear an outer garment similar to an uuj, often decorated around the edges with wave-like patterns. According to Islamic customs, women cover their hair with headscarves. They do not usually wear various types of jewelry, but wear large headscarves.
Zakhchin Ethnicity
The Zakhchin mainly live in Altai, Mankhan, Zereg, and Üench soums of Khovd Province. During the first half of the 17th century, they served as border guards of the Dzungar Khanate, stationed around areas such as the northern slopes of the Tian Shan, Ereents Havirga, Ikh Jultas, Baga Jultas, Chingel Gol, and Tsagaan Tokhoi. Recruits from Torguud, Dörvöd, and Ööld families were selected for their bravery and resettled in these border areas, forming what became the Zakhchin ethnicity. Altogether, they comprise over 30 genealogical clans.
After the Oirats were subjugated by the Manchus, some Zakhchin became subject to the Khalkha’s Zasagt Khan Province, specifically to Prince Tsedenjav. In 1756, the Manchus arrested Prince Mamud, who headed a group of about 2,000, and scattered his people, placing them under the jurisdiction of the Manchu amban in Uliastai, resettling them in what is now southwestern Khovd. In 1778, around 30 households from Mamud’s group were split off to form a new administrative unit under Mendesh, son of Jamtshan, who inherited his father’s princely title. Since that time, they have been called the Zakhchin Prince’s Banner.
During the Bogd Khaanate period, the Zakhchin banners were placed under the Dörvöd Ünen Zorigt Khan Province, and the people were informally referred to as “those from the north” and “those from the south.” The Zakhchin use the term tonjoo to describe something especially unusual or impressive, and they have a reputation for being quite humorous and fun-loving.
Zakhchin Clothing and Accessories
Hats
Both men and women among the Zakhchin wear halban, mandaa, tug oroit, khaliutai, tunlai, and other styles of hats. The most common is the “Halban” hat. The Halban hat has a low shape, is typically red, features 32 stitching segments, and has a blue mandaa at the top. Its sides are edged with sable, otter, minj (beaver), or black velvet, and the border is trimmed with otter fur.
“Tunlai” hats are shaped like a helmet, in blue with a red sumbet on top, two red zalaa ornaments hanging down, and a black lambskin brim or nape covering, with quilted blue earflaps. According to the elderly, men aged 20–40 used to wear this hat. It was originally military headgear worn by border guards, which later became widely adopted by civilians.
Zakhchin women wear a summer and winter “khaliutai malkhai,” a mandaa oroit hat with a flat, circular top. This type of hat has 64 stitched rays with a round red piece, a silver piece attached on top, then a red sumbet made of coral or red fabric. Below the silver ornament is a red silk zalaa and two red pairs of ties. The brim is covered with black sable or lamb and trimmed with otter fur, with round otter-fur “ears” attached at the sides. Zakhchin people symbolically interpret the flat, round top as the earth, the red circle as the nation, the silver ornament as the nation’s center, the sumbin ornament as the khan (ruler), the otter trimming as the border and the people, and the stitched rays as the spread of the khan’s authority.
Deel
Zakhchin men wear a white sheepskin deel. It has a horizontal collar (hevtee zah), with wide or narrow double trim around the collar and chest edges. This trim around the collar is called tsalam. They refer to this deel as devel.
Zakhchin married women also wear a white sheepskin deel in winter, called üch. It is open down the front, overlapping to the right, with seven large buttons on the chest, a sleeve that is wide near the upper arm and narrower at the wrist, and six rows of tassels between the shoulder and waist. The shoulder area is trimmed and embroidered with a white collar. In warm weather, married women wear an avgai terleg made from blue or dark blue fabric, called lavshig, which is similar in cut to a sheepskin deel, with wide sleeves and a flared skirt. The hem is trimmed with red silk and decorated with strips of colored ribbon. The tsegdeg (uuj) is a formal garment for married women.
Jewelry and Adornments
Zakhchin men adorn themselves with precious stone snuff bottles, embroidered snuff pouches, metal tamkhinii tüngertsög (tobacco cases), pipes with jade mouthpieces, intricately crafted silver knives (khet) decorated with the four mighty animals (lion, tiger, garuda, dragon), and embroidered leather cup holders carried at the waist.
Young married women wear large silver earrings with coral inlays, unmarried young women wear small silver earrings, and older women wear hooks or looped earrings. On festive occasions, women may wear 3–7 strands of dangling earrings. Tassel-style earrings feature horol (eternal knot), khan, khatan, or carriage flower motifs in braided silver chains, with leaf or bell-flower decorations at the ends.
Some say that the Bii Bielgee dance of the Zakhchin originated from finger dances. Over time, these movements of the ten fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and back evolved into a cultural expression depicting Mongolian daily life and customs, eventually becoming a traditional folk dance.
Darkhad Ethnicity
Darkhad people live in the northern reaches of Khövsgöl Province in areas such as Ulaan Taiga, the Sayan Mountains, and the region around Lake Khövsgöl, primarily in Renchinlkhümbe, Tsagaannuur, Ulaan-Uul, and Bayanzürkh soums. They are a distinctive group that has preserved Mongolia’s traditional shamanic customs.
The Darkhad are considered the descendants of the forest dwellers who lived in Mongolia’s northern territory, comprising both Mongol and Turkic lineage. The Darkhad ethnicity consists of 32 clans. Among them are the Khar Darkhad, Ukhaa Darkhad, Sharnuud, Barnuud, Chonod, etc., of which the Khar Darkhad have mixed Khalkh and Khamnigan ancestry. Darkhad speak Mongolian but have a unique accent and vocabulary containing many archaic Mongolian terms.
Darkhad Clothing and Accessories
Deel
The multi-colored lapel of the Darkhad deel resembles that of the Buriad. The front portion of the skirt is slightly rounded, while the back is extended. Because they live in the mountainous Khangai region, they wear deels with an extended back skirt to guard against the wind.
Bayad Ethnicity
The term “Bayad” is said to be a plural form of the word for “bayn” (wealthy). Among the ancient ancestors of the Mongols, there was an ovog (clan) called Bai-yan in the Xiongnu period. They are believed to have inhabited land north of the Yellow River. The Bayad clan took an active part in the formation of Mongolia’s first state.
Later, during the 16th–17th centuries, Bayad was one of the five otogs (divisions) of Outer Khalkha. By around the 17th century, some Bayad remained living among the Khalkha as the “ten banners of the Bayad,” preserving their lineage through to today in Uvs Province’s Tes, Züüngovi, KhYargas, Malchin, and Naranbulag soums, as well as in the Adaatsag, Delgertsogt, Saikhan-Ovoo, Erdenedalai, Delgerkhangai, and Khuld soums of Dundgovi Province, and in the Khalkh Gol and Tsagaan Ovoo soums of Dornod Province.
Also, Bayad banners in Inner Mongolia and families identifying as Bayad in Russia continue to live in those areas.
Bayad Clothing and Accessories
Deel
Bayad clothing includes attire for festivals and weddings, for men and women, children, elders, etc. A Bayad married woman’s deel is usually in shades of crimson, burgundy, or red-brown. It has a collar and outer lapel edged with wide white trim, a skirt bordered with trimming, very wide sleeves, and cuffs. The uuj has broad, rigid shoulders with no back slits. Bayad women put their hair in a tube-like cover called a tuivan. The top part of the tuivan is adorned, and a butterfly-shaped silver ornament is attached at the lower end, with black tassels hanging from it. White trim symbolizes modesty before the gods, representing sanctity and purity.
Bayad men primarily wear white sheepskin deels in winter. The deel is edged all around with black velvet, with slits (onoos) on both hips. At the top of each slit is an embroidered pattern, often of an ulzii (the auspicious endless knot). The collar is folded outward (laid flat) and double-lined with black velvet, sometimes trimmed with black lambskin along the folded edge. After tanning the sheepskin with argal smoke, it is decorated with red, green, or black silk. Sometimes the collar is edged with lambskin.
Uriankhai Ethnicity
The Uriankhai are one of the Mongolian ethnic groups sharing a common language, culture, and ancestry. They are one of the most ancient groups mentioned in historical records under their present name. Their history is considered traceable to the post-Xiongnu era and the time of the Xianbei state. Mongolian sources such as The Secret History of the Mongols record that many heroic generals arose from the Uriankhai tribes during the era of Chinggis Khaan in the 13th century—among them Zelme and Sübeedei.
Over time, those living in various parts of the country came to be called Khentii Uriankhai, Khövsgöl Uriankhai, or Altai Uriankhai, named after the regions they occupied. Today, the Uriankhai who once lived in the Khentii Mountains reside across five or six soums of Govi-Altai Province, known as the Uriankhai clan of the Khalkha. Those of Khövsgöl Province remain there, while those in the Altai Mountains live scattered along the slopes of the Altai, famed for their recitations of epics (tuul’).
The Uriankhai are known for using the largest bows in Mongolia. There are two main types of Uriankhai archery: summer archery during Naadam and winter archery on river ice during Tsagaan Sar.
Uriankhai Clothing and Accessories
Deel
Uriankhai men commonly wear a white deel daily. They create a slit (onoo) down to the hips, above which they sew a large black appliqué in the shape of a decorative pattern. The collar and hem are trimmed with wide black silk or lambskin. The cuffs are quite large. Their hat generally resembles a helmet.
Uriankhai women wear a seeten chikht hat and a wide-sleeved uuj. The uuj has stiff, high shoulders and a slit at the back. Their deel has three or five colored kerchiefs hanging from the waist. Under their hair cover, they do not wear heavy adornments but tie ribbons and hang tassels for symbolic purposes.
Mongol Deel in the Modern World
The Mongolian deel is now more than just a traditional garment. It has become a modern fashion trend. Team Mongolia's uniform for the Paris 2024 Olympics is a great example. It combines cultural heritage with modern style.