The foreign garment types, which were different fundamentally from the Greece draped garments, became identifiable in sculpture and vase painting. They often wore animal skins. Take Dionysus for example. He, as well as his fellows, usually wore panther skins in vase painting, indicating his foreign origin. On the other hand, the close fitting garments were in contrast to the loose fitting Greek garments. However, foreign garments were not exclusive to the foreigners. Sometimes, native Greeks, especially slaves and mercenaries, would wear these foreign garments as well. Therefore, it was difficult to identify whether the wearers were Athenian or foreigner, according to the appearance of their garments only. The cheiridotos chiton, kandys, and …show more content…
People often wore them over a long chiton. After Persian war, the ependytes became the dress of Amazons, Persians, and the other easterners. In the archaic period, the ependytes is known as a luxurious garment in festive occasions in the eastern Greece. Then, in the classical period, the ependytes reappeared as women’s dress especially, because of its patterns and fringes. As the picture shows in figure 17, the ependytes was characterized by its colorful and patterned appearances, and the typical features of foreign garment. The social status of this garment was uncertain. It not only had significant associations with barbarians or slaves, but also wore by elite Athenian women in ritual …show more content…
The layers of dress functioned as the personification of different identities in ancient Greece society. Generally, women’s garments were related to the patriarchal notion of controlling over female’s body. Greek women were assumed to cover their bodies from head to feet entirely. For instance, peplos, as the primary garment for the earliest inhabitants of Greece, used its heavily woven texture to obscures the form of female body underneath and conceals feminine sexuality deliberately. On the other hand, even though the strophion usually is difficult to be identified in the visual sources, women should cover their breasts properly, avoiding erotic connotations. Men’s garments, on the contrary, mainly communicated their social status through their garments. First, they had to dress correctly. Then, the luxurious garments, to some extent, were exclusive to wealthy old men. The imported garment was different from the others because of its foreign origin that generally had barbarian connotations in Athens. Even though it was inaccurate to determine whether the wearer of the garment was Athenian or foreigner, the garments still functioned as nonverbal messages communicating their divergent identities effectively. The expressive forms of garments in ancient Greece exemplified the intricate relationships between gender and
Men spent there time doing things outside the home, such as visiting markets and going to the gymnasium; meanwhile, women were required to spend their time at home. Some families could afford to have female slaves, but those slaves did not do every single job, so the wives were required to tend to the household and infants, which made it not possible to leave their house. Women sought companionship in other women to talk about their daily tasks and gossip. Athenian women were clothed and secluded so that they would be concealed from the eyes of strange men. They wore simple clothing that was not eye catching. The chapter also talks about the death rates of women in their childbearing years and how the death rates increased during these times. Pomeroy uses a chart about what occurs during a women’s pregnancy that was fascinating and explains what happens during pregnancy, as well as rituals.
The concept of fashion has shaken societies foundation from the moment humans began wearing clothes. Today’s generation laughs at the style that came before them, and the previous generation is appalled by the clothing of today. With every new fashion cycle, and every new runway show, there is always one item that manages to stir up some controversy; the swimsuit. The swimsuit has seen some drastic changes throughout the years and has evolved from a simple cover up, to a intense fashion statement when hitting the beach. To study the history of this garment we must reach far back into our ancient ancestors past.
Tunics were are two rectangles tied together by the top. Making clothing required labor in which slaves did, was very expensive. Women developed different styles of fashion like the “stola”, and different hairdos. There were different categories of slaves, the ones who did clothing labor and hair in which lived pleasant lives unlike the regular slave that worked on farms or for citizens. Many slaves sacrificed their hair to make wigs. Citizens often complained because “…slaves often went out on their own and citizens complained that they were unable to tell a difference”. Many women tried to fit because when a new emperors’ wife developed a new hairdo republican women citizens started to copy her and create their own styles, especially when Augustus wrote “The Art of Love – in which it taught men and women how to be attractive to be each other”.
During the Elizabethan Era, there were a set of rules controlling which classes could wear which clothing called the Sumptuary Laws. The Sumptuary Laws controlled the colors and types of clothing a person could wear. This allowed an easy and immediate way to identify rank and privilege (Elizabethan Era | Clothing). Those found dressed in inappropriate clothing could be fined, lose property, lose rank, and even be killed (Elizabethan Dress Codes). Those of the upperclass wore clothing made of more expensive materials, and those of the lower class wore the same general outfits, but their's were made of less expensive materials. Fashion during the Elizabethan Era was disciplined by the Sumptuary Laws.
of the book. USA: Simon and Schuster, Inc. 2000. The.. Print. The.. Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece.
There have been many things that described people throughout history. One of the most dominant ways was the style of clothing. Through cultural preference and materials available there is consistency as well as diversity in clothing. Though clothes in the Middle Ages were somewhat primitive compared to today’s garments, the quality clothing had no effect on the people’s freedom of expression through fashion.
The position of women in Classical Athens has often been described as subordinate in comparison to men. Women were categorized in very particular ways: Athenian women were wives, while those who migrated to Athens from other city-states were slaves or prostitutes. Countless literature, from tragedy to comedy and political texts, reinforces the notion that citizen women were meant to serve their husbands within the confines of the oikos and produce legitimate sons in order to further the glory of men while non-Athenian women served their purpose towards men through sexual pleasure. While there may be partial truth to these views, Athenian women played a crucial role in the religious sphere. Religion was directly linked to civic identity and was a fundamental and sacred element of not only a city-state, but to Greece as a whole during the Classical period. Surviving documentation has demonstrated that Athenian women played a vital part to specific religious traditions, such as the participation in the festivals of Thesmophoria and Adonia. Furthermore, there exists evidence that proves women could also acquire the position of priestess for particular cults, a position that increased their reputation and status in a culture that considered them inferior. These marginalized women used religion as a way to carve out a sacred and protect space for themselves, using it to create a sense of freedom in their lives and to bridge the gap in equality between them and the dominant men.
Elizabethan fashion was the start of fashion itself. This was the time of Christopher Columbus and other explorers who united the world. International trade routes had been discovered and global trade had officially began. Before the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, people just wore clothes to keep warm and to conceal themselves. Attire was plain and simple; it did not have flair or style. New fabrics and dyes were now readily available from all over the world. The Elizabethan Era was the first time the wealthy began to invest large sums of money and time into their clothing. Apparel distinguished the rich from the destitute. Both genders cared significantly about their clothing; it was not just a women’s hobby. The monarchs of the world during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries headed this new desire for gorgeous clothing, especially Queen Elizabeth herself. The Sumptuary laws were passed to keep certain styles specifically for the monarchs and nobility. The common people were prohibited from wearing those styles. The exquisite designs and shapes of clothing reflected the monarch’s influence on society and the novel Renaissance desire for a specific body shape; there were dissimilarities in attire among the people of different social classes due to the Sumptuary restrictions.
The ladies dresses of the early Middle Ages were influenced by the classical styles of the Greek and Roman women. Their dresses were tight to display the elegance of their figure. Dresses were embroidered and luxuriously decorated. Some dresses consisted of two tunics and of a veil or drapery. The veil was thrown...
For maintaining their social status, so the people typically wore clothes that followed the class system, that is, if a person was rich, they showed it by wearing fancier clothes and jewelry. Chiefs, the highest ranking individuals, wore a chilkat blanket, dance apron, leggings, and moccasins.
Covington, Sarah. "Clothing." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 545-549. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
“For as long as men and women have been wearing clothing, there has been a hierarchy based on garments. The clearest example arose when the sexes were segregated into skirts and pants: women would only wear dresses (a symbol of submission) and men would only wear trousers (proof of domination). Women’s clothing was created to impede and hamper movement (through tight or many layered skirts), while men enjoyed the ease and comfort of pant legs.” (Meza, Echazarreta) Women’s fashion throughout the ages can be used to trace the history of equality between men and women. As women achieved greater independence, they claimed the right to choose what they wore, and that included women being able to wear pants. There are three things that were instrumental in making it socially acceptable for women to wear pants, they include: the invention of the bicycle, WWII, and influential women.
From a historic point of view, Western travelers had remarked on the slow pace of lifestyle and fashion change in Turkey and Persia. On the other hand, many people were of the opinion that the western culture is getting out of hand in terms of dressing fashion (Cumming 234). In most cases, change of fashion and dressing style took place hand in hand with economic and social changes. In the developing world, changes in fashion began with the coming of the whites in Middle East. Changes began in the 11th century when the Turks came to central Asia and Far East. In Europe, continuous change in clothing fashion is believed to have started in middle 14th century. It started by a sudden introduction of shortening and tightening of male garments, it further brought the introduction of trousers and leggings that were worn by men (Cumming 235). After the advent of change in men fashion, it was followed by changes in female c...
Clothing has been around for thousands of years; almost as long as the modern human has. At first, it served the practical purpose of protection from the elements; but, as life for early humans stopped being a constant struggle to survive, they started noticing how they looked and the concept of fashion began to take shape. These first few garments were typically dyed draped cloth that was pinned at the shoulder and/or waist. This was seen in many ancient civilizations around the world, Greek and Roman the most notable. Over time, clothing began to get more and more complex and formed to the body’s shape, eventually leading up to the tailored style we now have today. However, the sophisticated world of Haute Couture; or high fashion, can distinctly trace its roots to Paris during the mid-19th century. Clothing from there was thought to be superior to those from anywhere else, and women began to come from all over Europe just to buy dresses. This was probably due in part to one notable dressm...
The weather was humid and dry. The men usually wore a cloth around their waist. More elite men dressed in robes tying from their shoulders down to their kneecaps (Laughton p.37). These robes also contained elaborate designs. The women dressed in dresses that wrapped around their shoulders almost like a toga (Sharer p.103).