Abstract: Rich costume culture among the Chinese people is an endless source of inspiration for modern garment design.This article studied the details of shape and decoration——pleats in Chinese folk dresses,and investigated its value in culture and art and the influence on modern design with focuses on the shape and decorative characters of pleats and its influence on the concept of modern garment design from shape aesthetic aspect.The combination of utility with aesthetic value in pleats in the traditional dress embodies the effective value of pleats in folk costume and is an important intension which should be expressed in the course of development of modern costume culture.