They aren't all wearing dresses, though it may seem like they are. Female caracters are wearing dresses, while male characters are wearing tunics. Pants/trousers/breeches are for barbarians and you aren't a barbarian are you?

This guide is meant to offer a fast overview of knowing the wheel pawns. I do have videos covering the game in-depth at:

Your pawns on the wheel while similar in tunic or dress have other telling aspects to help you work out who is who. Once you are familiar with what to look for it will come to you quickly.

Men: Have legs apart, elbows out, often have dark beards (though sometimes not very prominent) and are often wearing hats.

Women: Legs together, arms folded in front or one outstrecthed (elite tier), no beard and hatless (elite tier may have a crown/diadem).

Right. They aren't ghosts. The black ones are the other NPCs that don't have positive or negative feeling towards your family. They won't block you or offer extra assitance and you can move/make tokens with them normally.

The green ones are allies, often business partners or friends. They will help you by boosting you down the wheel in a similar fashion to the 'impetus of love'; allowing you to leapfrog down the track. Supposedly they also have bonus points for making tokens but that seems difficult to prove.

The red and white ones are enemies, people who are jealous lovers or maybe people you weren't that kind to (like stealing their design for a new pottery). They will block you from moving into their spot on the wheel and disrupt work. So if you were to fall back and an enemy is in that spot you will not make any tokens.
Note well: Enemies are not bound by the same rules in return. They can fall back to you and make tokens (you will get your share in that event) and they can move onto your spots.