[1][2]: 49 [3]: 75–76 [4] The terlig was initially developed to accommodate the culture, the equestrian and nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols, and to protect their bodies from the cold temperature of steppe regions.

[1][2]: 49–51  As the terlig gained symbolic meaning with time and as it spread into different regions, its shape and design evolved.

[1][2]: 64 The terlig in the Yuan dynasty was especially characterized by the presence of numerous narrow and dense folds (or pleats) at waist and by the presence of "waist-thread" decoration on the waistband wherein people would use red and silk threads to fasten the coat on their waist.

[1] After being adopted in the Ming dynasty, the tieli eventually became longer, and its overall structure was made closer to the shenyi system in order to integrate Han Chinese rituals; it also lost its "waist-thread" characteristics in the process.

[9] Localized forms of Mongol terlig continued to be called tieli (Chinese: 貼裏).

[9] Another new style of Ming dynasty tieli was the pleated robe (Chinese: 褶(摺)子衣; pinyin: Zhě(zhé)ziyī), which was also derived from and heavily influenced by the Yuan dynasty's yaoxianao[zi].

[1] In the Qing dynasty, the terlig evolved into a form of ceremonial dress (Chinese: 朝服; pinyin: chaofu), a robe with folds at the waist.

[1] The Qing dynasty chaofu was also a Manchu adaptation of the Han Chinese court dress.

[1] The terlig became more and more common in Korea due to the close relationship between the Goryeo and Mongol court through political marriages, and Mongol clothing was adopted in the Korean court in the late 13th and early 14th centuries AD.

[1] In Joseon, the terlig was written as ch'ŏmni (帖裡; possibly pronounced tieli in Middle Korean) in a book on music called Akhak gwebom and was possibly pronounced as tieli in Middle Korean; there is an illustration of a coat with folds and a waistband in the same book.

[1] After the 17th century, the bodice of the terlig became shorter than the length of the skirt and formed a high-waistline style.

[1] In Joseon, the cheollik was a form of court clothing (gwanbok); it was worn by the kings and by civil and military officials.

[19] The terlig worn in the Ilkhanate were slightly different from the ones in the China's Yuan dynasty despite some similarities in terms of shapes and while some were also decorated with Central or East-Asian motifs (e.g. cloud collar designs, Central or East Asian-style dragons, phoenixes and flowers such as lotus, chrysanthemum) which were introduced in West Asia during the Mongol period.

[2]: 101 [19] The terlig worn in the Ilkhnate regions had a combination of both Mongol and Islamic culture characteristics, such as roundel patterns and pseudo-Kufic inscription.

[1][20] The main differences from the Yuan dynasty terlig is the presence of tirāz bands in the forms of strips and in the way some of the clothing were worn together.

[2]: 101  The Islamic influences led to the implementation of bands (possibly reinforcement strips) along the shoulders and the arms.

[23] Emperor Akbar encouraged all of his citizens to wear the jama and created new clothing regulations in order to integrate the Muslim and local Hindu populations; the direction of the coat fastening differentiated the Indus and the Muslims.