Ancient Greek Costume

With the Greek civilization counted as one of the oldest civilizations, it is no surprise that ancient Greek male costume has always been intriguing both for the researchers as well as those who are fascinated by everything Greek’. Though the generally worn costume by most Greek men was a comfortable, tunic-like garment, it was mostly given a shape with a kind of belt. This kind of an ancient Greek male costume was called a chiton. A similar type of this dress was worn by women too, though with an additional covering.

To beat the cold, older men wore draped a blanket like costume, either by itself or over their chitons. Travelers had an added variation to the regular costume worn by ancient Greek males – the Chalmys, which was essentially a small rectangular piece of cloth placed over one of their shoulders.

Doric was a popular style for women and the most fashionable garment. It was a rectangular piece of cloth approx. 2 meters in length and least 3 meters in width. It was draped folded over at the top and dropping full length to the ankle. The material was mostly linen and fine wool. The silk that came from China and the Muslin and cotton from Egypt was restricted to the higher gentry. The well-off women wore circlets of gold and valuable stones. Amethyst was a fashionable stone. It even had a mythological story to its origin!

Initially, during the archaic period, the Ancient Greek Costumes were usually white or off-white – especially for the common man. They were further forbidden to wear red chitons and himations in theaters or public places. However, colors had been adopted and were widespread by the 5th Century. Homer has recorded the fashion of extravagant costumes woven with threads of silver and gold