Ancient Greek Costume

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

Fashion of today has its roots in the Ancient Greek Costumes. The Ancient Greeks have inspired the facet of clothing. They were painstakingly fussy about their turn out. There are innumerable statues, carvings and pottery depicting their fashion statements. Such great Greek historians as Herodotus have given us very detailed written descriptions of developments in fashion and the societal significance of Ancient Greek Costume and their accessories. The period post 1200 BC started with a civilization of people who wore bell-shaped skirts and tightly fitted bodices and ended with a race dressed in draped clothes that we associate with the Greeks.

In comparison, the Ancient Greek Costumes were more voluminous then that of the Egyptian counterparts. More often than not these were made of fine wool or linen in spite of the fact that Greeks also had access to linen, hemp cloth and silk. Although there were a variety of styles, the dresses were basically the same – rectangular pieces of cloth draped in different ways. The outfits were unisex and hardly varied down the ages.