Ancient Egyptian Fashion
Ancient Egyptian Fashion
The most surprising fact about Ancient Egyptian
Fashion was that it changed so little over a period of 3000 years.
Difficult to imagine when modern western society fashion changes with
every season! But why was there so little change in Ancient Egyptian
fashion? To answer that question we have to establish what type of
clothes they actually wore and when there were any changes in fashion we
need to discover what influenced the change.
Ancient Egyptian Fashion
- The Material
Egyptian fashion was dictated by the materials that were available in
Egypt. Cotton was not grown in Egypt and there were no wool- bearing
sheep.
The climate in Egypt is hot and dry and materials used to make the
clothes had to reflect this. The Ancient Egyptians therefore used linen
which was a light, cool, non-restrictive and comfortable material.
The linen cloth was made from flax which was
produced either in the home or in temples or workshops of the royal
palace. Different types of linen were produced ranging from a coarse,
sackcloth type of material to the finest, almost transparent white
linen. The most
wealthy Egyptians and members of the royal family
wore the finest white linen which was
frequently washed and for a radiant finish the clothes was bleached and
starched. Fashion dictated that the linen clothes worn by the richest women was so fine that it was
transparent.
Egyptian Fashion -
The Colors
The colors used in Egyptian fashion were predominantly white. Not only
was white a good color to wear in the sun and the heat, the color white also
symbolized purity. Decoration and color came from elaborate and colorful
jewelry together with wigs and make-up. Blue
and brown dyes were only occasionally used to color the linen in the
early Egyptian periods. Egyptian
fashion and the use of colors changed in the age of the
New Kingdom when the process for fixing dyes were discovered. Fashion in
relation to different colors changed and fashion became became brighter with
the use of red, blue, brown, gold
and green colors and fashion designs became more elaborate.
Ancient Egyptian Fashion
for Women
The dress of a woman in the Old Kingdom was made with a simple rectangle
of linen cloth into an ankle length tube dress. The dress was stitched down one side and straps were attached
to the top edge of the dress The straps were then knotted or fastened with a buckle. Some dresses had short sleeves or women
wore short robes tied over their shoulders. Fashion changed in the period of the Middle Kingdom when
patterned and colorful collars were worn and the style became more
elaborate. New Kingdom fashion for women changed due to the advances
in dye fixatives allowing for the use of more colorful linen in fashion.
The simple tube
dress remained but dresses were adorned by an elaborate pleated and fringed robe which was
worn over the dress. Wealthy Egyptian women also decorated their dress
with embroidery, feathers, sequins and different types of rosettes.
The fine, almost sheer linen was accompanied by
pieces of jewelry which covered various parts of their
anatomy.
-
The usekh
was a large collar which half hid the shoulders and
chest
-
The pectoral was
an elaborate
piece of jewelry worn on the chest which masked the hollow between the breasts
- which often took the shapes of falcons and scarabs.
-
Sometimes
fashion dictated that even
the breasts were covered with two golden cups, either
painted or enamelled
-
Jewelry was made
of gold and silver and inlaid with precious stones and gems
Ancient Egyptian Fashion
for Men
Fashion changed more for men than for women in Ancient Egypt. Men's
fashion in the Old Kingdom consisted of a knee-length kilt which was
knotted, or fastened with a buckle, at the waist. Men's fashion changed in the
period of the Middle Kingdom when the kilts became longer and straighter.
Full length cloaks were also worn by the men during the winter. Fashion
changed the look of men's clothing again during the period of the New
Kingdom. Advances in dye fixatives allowed for the use of more colorful linen and
the kilt was elaborately pleated and fringed. Elaborate sashes and aprons were
also added to complete the change in fashion of men's clothing
as were wide-sleeved tunics and under-kilts.
Egyptian Fashion in
the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms
The simplicity of the style of
Egyptian fashion changed very little through the many hundreds of years of the Old
Kingdom. The clothes needed very little stitching as they
were simply draped around the body, however the higher the status of the
person the more clothes and make-up they wore.
Ancient Egyptian Fashion changed in the period of
the Middle Kingdom when patterned and colorful collars were worn.
Fashion changed the look of Egyptian clothing again during the period of
the New Kingdom when advances in dye fixatives allowed for more colorful
linen and a variety of colors. The simple tube dress was then adorned by
an elaborate pleated and fringed robe which was worn over the dress,
according to the New Kingdom fashion. The period of the New Kingdom also
saw fashion change when wealthy Egyptian women decorated their dress
with feathers and sequins. Fashion in the New Kingdom was influenced by
the Syrians and embroidery was introduced to Ancient Egyptian fashion.
Ancient Egyptian Fashion
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