The clothing of the Byzantine

The clothes of the Byzantine became a luxurious, rigid dress, which covered the body and veiled it’s forms.
The ruling layer of the society liked silk materials and brocade, which were richly embroidered with precious metals and pearls.

Women wore the ankle long silk tunics as underwear and tied it with a belt.
The long or short sleeved stole served as upper cloathing, in the beginning it reached the ground, but later on it was shortened and it alloved the underwear to be seen.
Depending on the weight of the fabric they wore it with or without a belt.
The paenula funcioned as a piece of upper clothing.
The hem of the round, tight cloak was turned down, and cast back over the shoulders.
The members of the royal family put a cloak on and secured it with a buckle on their right shoulder.

Mens’ long sleeved tunic went down to the ground or to the ankles, was worn with a belt, and it’s lenght, material and colour varied based on the wearer’s social rank.
Men usually wore the tunic with tight pants.
The dalmatic was a long, beltless,
loose sleeved tunic worn by high ranked eminence, it’s front,
back and the rim of the sleeves were decorated by leghtwise bands the so called clavi.
The cloak, rectangular or rounded, was secured with a fibula on the front or on the right shoulder.
A piece of fabric, applicated in chest height, the tablion expressed the rank.
The tight cloak the paenula evolved into a religious ornatus, and became a chasuble.

The clothing of the ancient Romans

The clothing of the ancient Romans was greatly influenced by the Greek culture, it was less unique, it rather followed traditions.
Many times it seemed impersonal, still it was costly and tricky. The colour, the shape and the decoration showed the wearer’s rank and social
position. In the beginning they were made out of natural coloured wool, the colourful pieces became popular later on.

Women preferred light, flimsy fabrics like linen and silk.

Women loved to wear tunics, the underdress reaching the ground, and the
housedress, which was two pieces sewn together and cut holes into it for the
head and the arms.
Ocassionally sleeves were sewn to it or holes were cut for them.
The tunic was tied under the breasts and was decorated with buttons or a brooch at the shoulders.

The upper cloak, the stole’s cutting was tha same as the tunic’s and it resembled the Greek khiton, it was loose and often had a tail.
People wore this cloak with a chest band called a strofium.
The stoles were richly decorated with pearls, fringes and embroidery.
When going outside to the streets, people wrapped a square wool cloak around themselves, the palla.
This usually covered the head as well, but sometimes it was wrapped around
the hip.
In bad weather the paenula served as an upper piece of clothing,
which was a round or rhombus shaped hooded cloak made of wool or leather.

The men’s tunic went down to belov the knees and it was tied at the hip.
On festive occasions men wore tunics that went down to the ankles.
Sometimes they even wore more of them at once.
The ranks were marked in many ways for example the tunic was decorated
with ribbons and the wearer had no belt.
The toga was the most spectacular full dress of the Roman citizen,
covering the body with artistic pleats, sometimes even covering the head.
It was made of an oval wool cloth which was pleated lenghtwise, it’s
lenght was tree times the height of the wearer, the width approximately two times the width of the wearer.

The pallium was more practical and confortable than the toga. This rectangular cloak was simply wrapped around the body and layed on the shoulder.

The clothing of the ancient Greeks

The clothing of the ancient Greeks was a loose, airy cloth pleated artistically
around the body, and the unique pleating and the belt served as it’s main
decoration.
linen, wool and cotton.
They preferred full, rich colours and often used ribbons for decoration.

Types of female clothing:

The peplos was a square piece of wool cloth wrapped around the body
under the arms,
and by lifting the corners they were secured with a pin, cape buckles, buttons or a knot.
The upper hem of the cloth was brought down to the waist, and the right side
remained open.
This long straight cape was often worn without a belt,
however sometimes people wore a belt at the waist just above the turn-down.
The khiton was made of linen and most of the times it was sewed together
on both sides.
The tighter form only covered the shoulders so it was sleevless.
The loose khiton went from one hand’s fingertip to the other hand’s
and had fake sleeves, which were created by not applying the shoulder seams,
or by knotting the upper hem above the arm.
The khiton was characterised by the heavy pleating, which was the result of the multiple ties on the waist, the hip and under the breasts.
The himation, a square shaped wool cloth, was wrapped around the body as a coat, and sometimes it even covered the head as well.

Men’s clothing:
The mens’ khlaina was the equal of the womens’ peplos.
The square cloth was cast above the back and the shoulders, and it was secured at the front or on the right shoulder with a pin or a buckle.

The mens’ khiton similarly to the khlaina reached down to the ground and it
was tightened with a belt.
The khiton, that went down to the ankle and was tied under the breasts,
was only worn on ceremonial occasions, otherwise wearing it was the privilege of the nobles and the priests.
The short cloth that left one shoulder uncovered was called the exomis, this dress alloved a greater freedom of movement.

The horsemen and the soldiers were especially fond of the cloak-like khlamus
made of wool. This cloak was cast above the left shoulder and tied together
above the right shoulder, leaving the right arm uncovered and this way men could move freely in case of a fight.

The Egyptians’ clothing.

Originally every class dressed in the same way, the clothing that represented social rank and financial circumstances developed later on.

In the beginning women wore simple linen cloths, which they wrapped around their lower body and tied at their waist.
Their upper body remained uncovered, only those belonging to the upper class wore capes that went down to their elbows.
Later on the calasiris appeared, which could be worn in many different ways.
This one went down to the calf or to the ankle, it was close fitting and revealed the lines of the figure.

It left the brests uncovered, and it was held by a sash or a broad epaulet.

The shirt shaped calasiris was tight at the neck, but there were various
neck types and it was also made with or without sleeves.
The translucent and the thickly pleated pieces were worn without or with belts.

Men wore hip or loin-cloths the so called senti.
The cloth was wrapped around the lower body, tied at the front or fastened
with a belt.
The senti of the kings and the honorable members of society were
heavily pleated and decorated.
Men often wore more loin-cloths on top of each other and the one on top was
the longest, and it’s shape resembled a skirt.
Originally the senti was the only piece of clothing, the upper body wasn’t covered just like in the women’s case.
Later on the men began to wear calasirises, mostly above the loin-cloth,
but sometimes underneath it.
Only the royalties wore a translucent cape wrapped around their bodies, the so called haik.

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