Ancient Egypt

• Egypt has hot and dry weather because so much of it is a desert. The ancient Egyptians had to have clothing that was not too hot and allowed free flowing air to cool their bodies. Most of the clothes they wore were made of linen that was made from the flax plant. The type and quality of linen depended upon how rich the person was.

Ancient Egypt• In ancient Egypt, LINEN was by far the most

common textile. It helped people to be comfortable in the subtropical heat.

• WOOL was considered impure. Only the wealthy wore animal fibers that were the object of taboos. They were used on occasion for overcoats, but were forbidden in temples and sanctuaries.

The ancient Egyptians were very concerned about their appearance and, unlike so many of the other cultures in the area at that time, chose to create individually hand sewn pieces, instead of just one big piece of cloth wrapped around their bodies. They wore a kind of TUNIC made of white linen that might make you think of a t-shirt. A man’s tunic would reach his knee area, while a woman’s tunic would go all the way to the ankles. Women’s clothes looked more like a dress, and could have one or two shoulders covered and the linen cloth for women was made with a much better quality than the men’s.

When men were working they wore a kind of ‘loin cloth or kilt’ made of linen that was wrapped around the legs and waist. The length of the kilt depended upon what was in fashion at that time. There is no evidence that men or women wore any kinds of hats. This is probably due to the hot desert sun. Wearing a hat could make the person overheated. They did wear headdresses for special occasions. Many of the Egyptians went barefoot, but the rich are shown with sandals that are made from leather; poor people wore sandals made of woven papyrus reeds, which were a kind of straw.

If someone was very wealthy, they would be seen wearing a much better type of linen and would often add jewelry made of fine gemstones for decoration. The linen was so fine that you could almost see through it. It seems that the Egyptians do share some of the same values as people of today. The wealthy were very fashion conscious and were always trying to keep up with whatever fashion trends would happen. Some of these trends were set by the royal family, while others were influenced through the imported fashions and things from other countries.

People that were poor wore a more course or rough type of linen and could not afford jewels but might have added feathers or beads.Children did not wear any clothes until they reached the age of 6. While they didn’t have any clothes, there are pictures of kids wearing anklets, collars, bracelets and hair accessories as decoration. Almost all slaves are shown with hardly any clothes and they worked without wearing anything at all. After they reached the age of six, most children wore the same type of clothes as their parents.

Art from that time shows women in very tight dresses but examples of dresses which survive from the Early Period are much more baggy and had sleeves. Indeed, if the dresses were as tight as portrayed in the art, they would have been difficult to put on, let alone walk in.

Unlike today, men and women both wore makeup. They had green and blue eye shadow and for special occasions. The lined their eyes in black kohl to help protect their eyes from the bright sunlight. The dark liner would reflect the sun away from their eyes.

The heavy eyeliner, and smoked out eyes was all the rage in that period of time. The women and men would use the eyeliner to add depth and highlight their eyes which amped up their look. With the eyeliner was strongly filled eyebrows which framed their face and their golden skin tones.

A style of dress which is now seen everywhere would be a tight straight fitting shoulder strap dress, also now known as a bodycon dress.

Egyptian Influence today

This photo is an Egyptian inspired piece made by Oscar De La Renta for the spring 2008 season. It is a long elegant gold sequined gown with jewels around the neck.

The Tunic dresses worn in 1700 B.C. and is now

recycled and worn by

model Joan Smalls

Rodriguez

Ancient Greece• The ancient Greeks weren’t

terribly interested in fashion. The clothing they wore was simple and was made to serve a purpose. (Or several purposes) Although you often see paintings with Greeks dressed in all white, it is believed that their clothing was actually very colorful. Drawings and carvings from ancient Greece also show clothing with many kinds of patterns on them.

Ancient Greece• The same piece of fabric could

be used for numerous things. It could be used as both clothing and bedding. The garment was usually simply a square or rectangular piece of cloth, which could be pinned or belted different ways. These garments were usually made from a type of linen or wool. Greece has a mild climate with very hot summers, and so the simpler their clothing, the better.

• Women wore a tunic called a peplos. The peplos was a full-length garment that would be draped and pinned at the shoulder different ways. Women also wore a garment called a chiton. This would be worn over the peplos. The chiton was usually very long and very full, and could be pulled together or sewn at the shoulders. Both of these garments were usually long enough to be pulled up over a belt.

• Men also wore a chiton, but theirs was usually made from a lighter material. This was because men often had to work outdoors. A man’s chiton could be draped over one or both shoulders. Greek men often wore a chiton draped over their left shoulder for horseback riding or other vigorous activity.

• Both men and women wore a garment called a himation. The himation was a cloak which was worn in colder weather. Like other Greek garments, the himation could be used for other things. For soldiers away from home, it could be used as a blanket.

• The ancient Greeks generally did not wear shoes. They might occasionally wear slippers or other soft-soled shoes, but usually preferred to go barefoot. Boots or leather sandals could be worn for special occasions. It was possible for a person in ancient Greece to go their entire life without wearing shoes!

Babies and small children in Greece might not wear any clothes at all!

Ancient Cosmetics• Makeup was used in ancient Greece. Rich

women stayed indoors most of the day. Pale skin was fashionable and a sign of prestige. Women applied white lead (which was toxic) to their faces to lighten their complexion. Chalk was also used to lighten their complexion, but it wore off quickly. Connected eyebrows were also fashionable, so women decorated their eyes with dark powder. Red powder was also applied to their cheeks.

Accessories• Shawls were a chief

accessory often trimmed with traditional patterns.

Intricate jewelry, i.e. snake bracelets, dangly earrings and heavy necklaces were other adornments.

Archeological excavations in various Greek sites have given evidence that jewelry was popular in ancient Greece. Women wore earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Evidence suggests that men in early Greece wore jewelry also, but by the fourth century, it appears that the trend had ended. Wealthy Greek women liked to wear lots of jewelry. Brooches and pins were important, as they were used to fasten the chitons. The women also wore necklaces, made of gold and silver, and had earrings and bracelets.

Amulets• Amulets are

charms that were said to protect the wearer from all sorts of harm and were widely worn in ancient cultures.

Greek Hairstyles

Hairstyles in ancient Greece changed over time. In the early days of Greece, men normally wore their hair short and grew beards. During the Hellenistic era, beards went out of style. Long hair was typical for Greek women; only slave women would wear their hair short. Women curled and braided their hair in early Greece. Later the style was to tie their hair back or put it up into a bun.

Crowns of leaves, both real foliage and that made of gold, silver or copper adorned the hair.

Ancient ROMAN STYLESRomans paid special attention to their clothing and wealthy Romans followed fashion trends of the time. The clothes were designed and marked in a manner that depicted the social status of the man wearing them. Common citizens wore unmarked clothes but those holding political or administrative positions had their clothes marked to show their standing in society. •Senators would wear tunics with purple stripes, It was a status symbol of sorts, because purple dye was very expensive . • Generals would wear the toga which had a gold border in order to celebrate their triumphs. •Emperors wore the an entirely purple toga.

• Romans used different types of fabrics and materials for manufacturing clothes. The most commonly used fabric was wool. Wool was considered comfortable and sturdy by Romans and it also provided them with much needed respite against cold weather. Almost all Roman families spun their own woolen fabric in their houses under the supervision of lady of the house. While ordinary women performed the duty of spinning themselves, rich women used their slaves for the job.

• Romans also imported silk from China and cotton from India for manufacturing clothes. Silk was used by wealthy Romans and was expensive and rare.

• Romans also used leather for manufacturing footwear, coats and other articles of clothing. They normally used pig and sheepskin leather for the purpose.

• Roman men and women both wore the loose garment called tunics.

• Male citizens also wore togas over tunics when they ventured out of their homes for business and socializing. Toga was a very long cloth that was wrapped around the body over a tunic. Togas were made of wool and tunics of linen.

• Only Roman citizens were allowed to wear togas and after 2nd century BC, Roman women were stopped from wearing togas.

• Roman women wore tunics and a special garment called STOLA which was a long pleated dress held on by belts worn over a tunic. The Stola was made of linen, heavily pleated and it could be decorated with ribbons and colors.

• Roman women wore togas till 2nd century BC, after which they were not allowed to wear it anymore.

• While at home both men and women wore tunics, married women donned a more formal stola when going out or receiving guests at home. Girls wore white clothing until they were married.

• Roman girls however, wore tunics alone with varying length, short tunics at home and long tunics outside.

• Many women wore a shawl called ‘palla’ over the stola to keep them warm. They also wore decorations like brooches (Pins) over their clothes and even used ornaments to go with their clothes for more formal occasions. Women belonging to wealthy families also wore garments made from silk and other expensive imported fabrics.

• Footwear: Romans mostly wore footwear made of leather. There were two types of footwear worn by Romans. Calceus, a sandal with open toe and strapped to foot and Soleae, a full shoe with a close toe were the two main varieties. The color and style also depicted the social standing of a person. Senators or patricians wore red colored shoes.

Jewelry Jewelry was mostly worn by women. Wealthy women wore a wide variety of jewelry including earrings, necklaces, tiaras, and bracelets. Men usually only wore rings.

Bulla• Children wore a special locket around their neck, given to them at birth,

called a bulla. It contained an amulet as a protection against evil and was worn on a chain, cord, or strap.

• Girls wore their bulla until the eve of their wedding day, when their bulla was set aside with other childhood things, like her toys.

• Boys wore their bulla until they day they became a citizen at age 16 or 17. Boys' bullas were put aside and carefully saved. A boy's bulla could be worn by the owner again if he won special honors. For example, if he became a successful general, and won the honor of triumph, he would wear his bulla in ceremonial parades, to protect him from the evil jealously of men or gods.

BeautyWomen often dyed their hair, usually golden-red. They used false hairpieces to make their hair thicker or longer. Sometimes, Roman women wore their hair up, in carefully arranged styles, held with jeweled hairpins. Sometimes they wore it down, curled in ringlets.

Linen• cloth woven from flax.

• The earliest records of an established linen industry are 4,000 years old, from Egypt.

Interesting Note:When the tomb of the Pharaoh Ramses II, who died 1213 BC, was discovered in 1881, the linen wrappings were in a state of perfect preservation after more than 3000 years. When the tomb of Tutankhamen was opened, the linen curtains were found to be intact.

SheathIn fashion, a sheath dress is a type of dress designed to fit close to the body, relatively unadorned. A sheath dress typically falls around the knees or lower thighs.

TunicTHEN - a loose garment, typically sleeveless and reaching to the wearer's knees, as worn in ancient Greece and Rome.

NOW - A tunic is a loose-fitting shirt that looks sort of like a long shirt or a short dress.

Toga • a loose flowing outer garment worn by the citizens of ancient Rome, made of a single piece of cloth and covering the whole body apart from the right arm.

Megan Fox in a toga-inspired Kaufman Franco design.

Scarab

• Scarabs were popular amulets (good luck charms) in ancient Egypt.

• They were generally intended to be worn or carried by the living. They were typically carved or molded in the form of a scarab beetle

Egyptian style opal inlay pendant

To Do• Create a modern Fashion

Illustration based on ancient fashion

• You can use any materials you choose, Brush & Ink, Marker, Colored Pencil or a combination

• Finished size 9 x 12 inch