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Trousers were commonly made of cloth such as wool, but some Métis men wore buckskin or moleskin trousers. Trousers were often tied at the knee and sometimes at the ankle. Outer cloth leggings could be worn over trousers and attached to a belt by buckskin strings. In Paul Kane's 1859 book, Wanderings of an artist among the Indians of North America, about his wanderings among various Native groups, he recollects a dance at Fort Edmonton that was held in 1855. At this dance, the men wore cloth caps decorated with feathers and ribbons, fancy belts and beaded leggings.

In place of wearing belts or braces, many Métis men wore colourful sashes to hold up their trousers. The sash became a distinguishing feature of Métis dress. Red sashes were referred as Canada belts, Red River sashes, or the l'Assomption sash, named after a place in Quebec where many of them were made. Traditionally, wearing a red sash was derived from the dress of voyageurs. Sashes were traded throughout North America. Men had numerous practical reasons for wearing a sash. Pouched possessions could be hung to a sash. For example, a beaded pipebag could hold a favourite pipe.

A sash could act as a tumpline, a word that is derived from Algonquian (tump). A tumpline is a sling that can be slung over the forehead or shoulders and used for carrying objects or for supporting a backpack. Also, when required, a sash could be used as a rope or even a dog harness. The sash continues to be an important Métis symbol in contemporary Canada. Similar to the "Order of Canada", the Métis have the "Order of the Sash", which acknowledges individual Métis who have made outstanding contributions to their people and country.

Blue blanket capotes (hooded coats) were worn, especially in cooler temperatures, with a sash tied at the man's waist. Another favourite top coating was a jacket with brass buttons. Some Métis men wore broad, often ornamented belts that crossed their chests and backs. These crossed belts allowed the wearer to attach powder horns and beaded shot pouches. Shotguns, rifles, and knives were generally carried in sheaths (covers). The sheaths protected their weapons but they were almost always decorated to provide esthetic pleasure.

Commonly, Métis tripmen (men who rowed York boats), freighters, and buffalo hunters wore leather shirts that were often decorated by wives or craftswomen to reflect the individual's character.

Other types of shirts were brightly patterned or striped. A well-dressed Métis man wore a fichu or cravat around his neck. While waistcoats were a European fashion, Métis women embellished them with leather embroidery or finely detailed beading.

Métis women's use of floral embroidery and floral beadwork was a European influence. Nuns taught Métis women floral embroidery techniques. Nuns also painted urns full of flowers on church and mission columns. Sioux and Cree women were so taken with this technique they began to call Métis women 'flower-beadwork people'.

Besides wearing fur or beaded skin hats, Métis men wore top hats and broad rimmed felt hats which Métis women decorated. In the mid-1800s, writer P.F. Tytler vividly described how Métis men wore their hats.

…Their heads are decked with hats, caps, bonnets and nightcaps, or nature's own covering, all of which are covered profusely with tinsel hat cords, gold and silver tinsel tassels, ribbons of every hue in the rainbow, and a good many more that the rainbow never displayed.

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