Egypt
Clothing worn in ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic period (prior to 3100 BC) to the collapse of the Ptolemaic dynasty with the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Egyptian clothing was filled with a variety
of colors. Adorned with precious gems and jewels, the fashions of the Ancient
Egyptians were made for not only beauty but also comfort. Egyptian fashion was
created to keep cool while in the hot desert.
During the Old,
Middle and New Kingdom, Ancient Egyptian women often wore simple sheath dresses
called
kalasiris.
Women's clothing in ancient Egypt was
more conservative than men's clothing.
The dresses were
held up by one or two straps and were worn down to the ankle, while the upper
edge could be worn above or below the breasts.
The length of the dress denoted the
social class of the wearer.
Beading
or feathers were also used as an embellishment on the dress. Over the dress,
women had a choice of wearing shawls, capes, or robes. The shawl was a piece of
cloth around 4 feet wide by 13 or 14 feet long.
This was mostly worn pleated as well.
Female clothes only changed slightly
through the millennia. Draped clothing (with many varieties of drapery)
sometimes gave the impression of completely different clothing. It was made of
haïk, a very fine
muslin.
Until the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty women wore a tight-fitting sheath
dress, a simple garment that falls from just below the breasts to just above
the ankles, being held up by two shoulder straps. On statues the straps cover
the breasts, but in painting and relief the single breast depicted in profile
is exposed.
The dress hugs the body with no slack. Also when women are shown in
movement, sitting or kneeling, the dress still clings to the outline of the
body as if elasticated. However Egyptian clothes were mostly made from linen,
which tends to sag. Surviving dresses consist of a body made from a tube of
material sewn up one side, supported not by straps but by a bodice with sleeves. In contrast to dresses
shown in art, such linen garments tend to be baggy, and would conceal rather
than reveal the body.
From
about 2130 BC during the Old Kingdom, garments were simple. The men wore
wrap around skirts known as the Shendyt, which were belted
at the waist, sometimes pleated or gathered in the front. During
this time, men's skirts were short. As the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, 1600 B.C., came, the skirt was worn longer. Then, around 1420 BC, there was a
light tunic or blouse with sleeves, as well as a pleated petticoat.
Children
wore no clothing until 6 years old. Once
they turned six years old they were allowed to wear clothing to protect them
from the dry heat. A popular hairstyle among the children was the side-lock on the right side of the head. Even
though children usually wore no clothing, they wore jewelry such as anklets,
bracelets, collars, and hair accessories. When they grew up, they wore the same
styles as their parents.
Wigs,
common to both genders, were worn by wealthy people of society. Made from real
human and horse hair, they had ornaments incorporated into them. They were
often woven into certain hairstyles and were quite inexpensive. In the royal
court, women sometimes wore cuplets filled with perfume. They were worn to also
keep out head lice and protected the head when doing dangerous things.
Rome
Clothing in ancient Rome generally comprised the toga, the tunic, the stola, brooches for these, and breeches.
After
the 2nd century BC, besides tunics, women wore a simple garment known as a stola and usually followed the fashions of their Greek
contemporaries. Stolae typically comprised two rectangular segments of cloth
joined at the side by fibulae and buttons in a manner allowing the garment to drape
freely over the front of the wearer. Over the stola, women often wore the palla, a sort of shawl made of an oblong piece of material that
could be worn as a coat, with or without hood, or draped over the left
shoulder, under the right arm, and then over the left arm.
The
dress code of the day was complex and had to reflect one's position accurately
in the social order, one's gender, and one's language. Two examples were the angusticlaviaand the laticlavus. The former was the official tunic of the equestrian order and the latter was what senators wore. "The importance of official dress, even more
than other distinctions, signaled the social status and rank of freeborn Romans
and the public roles of magistrates and priests."
The
variations of clothing worn in Rome were similar to the clothing worn in Greece
at the same time, with the exception of the traditionally Roman toga. Until the
2nd century BC, the toga was worn by both sexes and bore no distinction of rank
– after that, a woman wearing a toga was marked out as a prostitute. The
differentiation between rich and poor was made through the quality of the
material; the upper-classes wore thin, naturally colored, wool togas while the
lower-classes wore coarse material or thin felt.
Greece
Clothing in ancient Greece primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys. Ancient Greek men
and women typically wore two pieces of clothing draped about the body: an undergarment
(chiton or peplos) and a cloak (himation or chlamys). Clothes were customarily homemade out
of various lengths of rectangular linen or wool fabric with little cutting or
sewing, and secured with ornamental clasps or pins, and a belt, or girdle
(zone). Pieces were generally interchangeable between men and women.
The chiton was a simple tunic garment of lighter
linen that was worn by both genders and all ages. It consisted of a wide,
rectangular tube of material secured along the shoulders and upper arms by a
series of fasteners. Chitons
typically fell to the ankles of the wearer, but shorter chitons were sometimes
worn during vigorous activities by athletes, warriors or slaves.
Often times excess
fabric would be pulled over a girdle, or belt, which was fastened around the
waist (see kolpos). To deal with the bulk sometimes a
strap, or anamaschalisterwas worn
around the neck, brought under the armpits, crossed in the back and tied in the
front. A himation,
or cloak, could be worn over-top of the chiton.
A predecessor to
the himation,
the peplos was a square piece of cloth that was
originally worn over the chiton. The
top third of the cloth was folded over and pinned at both shoulders, leaving
the cloth open down one side. Sometimes
the peplos was worn alone as an alternative form
of chiton. As with the chiton,
oftentimes a girdle or belt would be used to fasten the
folds at the waist.
Ancient
Greek clothing was made with silk, linen and most often, wool. The production
of fabric was a long and tedious process, making ready-made clothing expensive.
It was socially accepted that textile making was primarily a women's
responsibility, and the production of high quality textiles was regarded as an
accomplishment for women of high status. Once made, the cloth was rarely cut.
The seamless rectangles of fabric were draped on the body in various ways with
little sewing involved.
The Elizabethan Era was a highly fashion-conscious age, and prized a look that was elaborate, artificial, stylized, and striking. Men and women alike were concerned to be wearing the latest and most fashionable outfits. Elizabethan dress was gorgeous and elaborate, mirroring the prosperity and energy of the age. Queen Elizabeth herself provided an extravagant fashion model - an inventory of her clothing in 1600 included almost 300 gowns and several hundred other costumes, in addition to state apparel. Towards the end of her reign, English dress became increasingly exaggerated, following the eccentric tastes of the aging queen.
