GREEK FASHION

Meerie Park
Ancient Greek – Clothes
 The kind of clothing worn in
ancient Greece was loose and
flowing and hardly were the
garments ever sewn together
 The fabrics used were mainly
linen or wool
 Women also wore a veil with
their clothing whenever they
stepped out of the house
 In fact, the ancient Greek fashion
was quite modern in its outlook
as far as men were concerned to
the extent that male nudity was
really not a big deal in ancient
Greece
Ancient Greek – 3 types of clothes
 Chiton
 Was worn in the ancient Greece by men as
well as women
 This form was of clothing was of clothing
was quite popular in ancient Greek fashion
 The chiton could be worn with a himation or
it could be worn without it as well
 A belt was also worn with the chiton, which
was called the zoster
 The Doric chition consisted of two pieces of
cloth, which were rectangular in shape, and
was worn long
 The Ionic chiton differed from the Doric
chiton in terms of the overfold. The overfold
was worn longer on the Doric chiton.
Ancient Greek – 3 types of clothes
 Himation
 When the himation was being worn in ancient Greece, it represented a form of
outdoor wear
 The himation is also an important garment of ancient Greek fashion
 This was generally made from a rectangular piece of wool with the use of lighter
fabrics, the himation was worn at any time of the day
 The himation was loose and flowing, thus, it can be termed as a modern cloak—it
was also used as a form of drapery to be worn over the chiton
 The himation can be compared to the Roman toga, the only difference being that
the himation has less volume in the fabric
 When worn solo, the himation was known as the achiton.
Ancient Greek – 3 types of clothes
 Peplos
 Women often wore the peplos and these go back to the period before 500 BC—
this can be described as a piece of woollen material and was styled as per the
height of the wearer
 The peplos consisted of a tubular shaped cloth—this was folded from the inside
out
 The top area of the tube usually gathered at the waist and the bottom area
extended till the ankles
 The cloth on the upper area was brought underneath the left arm—this was
secured with the help of tapes or pins on the right shoulder
 The top layer of the cloth, which draped the waist often gave the appearance of
two pieces of cloth
 There were certain types of patterns that were used for the peplos. Some of the
common patterns included checks, flowers, waves or even stripes. When women
wore the peplos, the arms were generally left bare. When the fabric hung at the
front area, folds were generally formed and these were also fastened on the
shoulders.
Ancient Greek – Chalmys
 Chlamys
 The chlamys was also flowing in its
appearance and was mainly worn
by the soldiers in ancient Greece.
 The chlamys was used as a cloak
and was pinned at the right
shoulder
 The chlamys was also worn with
other forms of clothing
 Generally, soldiers only used it as
a form of a cover
 This was worn pinned at the right
arm
Ancient Greek – Colours
 Colours also played a big role in
ancient Greek women’s fashion
 Different colours symbolized
different things
 For example, a dark veil was a
sign of mourning—in the book
The Iliad, Homer writes that Thetis
wears an indigo veil and Homer
writes, "The radiant queen of the
sea-nymphs seized a veil, blue-
black, no darker robe in all the
ocean depths."
Ancient Greek – Colours
 Commonly Used Colors
 violet
 green
 grey
 In 500 B.C.E., to 400 B.C.E., ancient
Greek women wore many fashions
 Their clothing became more elaborate
and more detailed as the century passed
 The colors became brighter, and new
styles were developed
 The changing of fashion for the Greek
women relates to all societies
 As time goes on, fashion everywhere
changes, just as it did for ancient Greek
women
Ancient Greek – Jewelry
 Jewelry did form a significant
part of ancient Greek fashion
 was discovered with the findings
of jewelry at the Greek sites
which proves that women in
ancient
 Greece loved to wear all sorts
of jewellery with their flowing
garments—bracelets, earrings
and necklaces
 Even men were not left behind as
far as ancient Greek fashion was
concerned. It is known that men
wore jewellery till the 4th century
Ancient Greek – Make-ups
 Ancient Greek women also used
make up—pale or light skin was
considered a status symbol for
women
 Women used honey and olive oil
to improve their skin
 They often used substances as a
substitute for cosmetics for
enhancing their looks
 Dark powder was dusted over
the eyebrows and red powder
was used over their lips
 Women also loved to wear their
hair long during this period.
Ancient Greek – Hair styles
 Hairstyles in ancient Greece also
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.