'Sexy' new PLA uniforms set to turn heads at the big parade in Beijing

When members of the People's Liberation Army march down Changan Avenue on October 1, the top brass on the rostrum in Tiananmen Square may struggle to keep their eyes front.

The troops will be sporting eye-catching new uniforms that have been praised for being modern, well-tailored, practical - and even sexy.

According to the PLA Daily, all armed forces, including the elite strategic missile corps, will be wearing the '07-type' uniforms for the first time at a public display as they are inspected by their commander-in-chief, President Hu Jintao .

Introduced in 2007 to mark the PLA's 80th anniversary, the uniforms come in four basic categories and 644 variations. The newspaper lavished praise on their 'modern design, harmonious and solemn colours, comfortable and well-tailored sizes, and better fabrics and quality'.

Ornaments like chest badges, name bars, ribbons and other insignia have been added to the uniform. 'Caps with curled brims,' the report noted, 'have been issued for the first time to present a more charming demeanour for female soldiers'.

This is all a far cry from the parade to mark the founding of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949. Back then, with fighting against the Kuomintang still raging in the south, troops were a ragtag bunch, unable to scrape together matching kit. Men wore helmets and yellow and green uniforms, while female soldiers put on unflattering yellow dresses.