Week #2 
Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome

Ancient Greek Dress

Ancient Greek dress was more voluminous than that of the Egyptians, and was most often made of fine woolens, although it is thought that the Greeks also had regular access to linen, hemp cloth and silk. The primary garment of Ancient Greek clothing was the Chiton, an all-over body garment made from a large rectangle of cloth wrapped once around the body from right side to right side.  This garment was then pinned at the shoulders and tied at the waist or hips, and draped in hanging folds about the body. Young men generally wore short chitons, and older men and women longer ones.  Older men also often are depicted wearing long draped mantles either alone or over a chiton . A smaller rectangle worn over one shoulder by travelers and young men was called a Chalmys.

A Chalmys from Leon Heuzy's Draping Classical Costumes (Scan by C.L.M.) Inline images at left are also from Heuzy.

  Women's Chitons were draped in a variety of ways, and were also worn with mantles. Greek fabric was far more elaborate than the Egyptians, and included complex border designs both woven in and embroidered. Greek Jewelry, although less prominent than Egyptian jewelry, was exceedingly complex and finely made. 

Like Egyptian dress, Greek clothing was centered in an aesthetic that idealized the human body, rather than attempting to conceal it's natural shape. The Greeks made many clothing decisions based on this aesthetic that were less than practical choices: Pinning garments closed instead of stitching, rarely wearing sandals or shoes despite a rocky landscape, draping garments around the body for warmth during cold instead of making garments with sleeves or trousers as their near neighbors the Phrygians (see at right) did. The Greeks definitely knew how to make sleeves, for their theatrical costumes had them, but for normal wear sleeves were judged less aesthetic than bare arms and so were not worn. Greek jewelry was also an object of much technical concentration, so much so that Western jewelry technique has only caught up to it since the Industrial Revolution. 

• Links on Ancient Greece and Environs

  Assorted Ancient Greek costumes from Kretchmer (Donated scan)

The Greek Quest for Ideal Order (500 to 300 BC) - By Miles Hodges

  Plates from Stage Costume by Agnes B. Young, 1927

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