Egyptian vs Greek Clothing
Amanda Dobbs
Fall 2012
10-5-12
Synthesis Paper
My major is theatre with a costume design emphasis. I’m really excited to be able to write on a topic that is very interesting to myself. The clothing styles of ancient egypt and of ancient Greece have a lot thats different but at the same time a lot that is similar. How they dressed themselves was a lot more than just finding whatever you could to cover yourself, It was a way of showing status when walking around.
General Egypt
Egyptian clothing today is a lot different than It was 3000-525 B.C.E. Todays clothing, especially for women, is very modest and covers them up. It used to be that the thinner the fabric, the more important you were. The women normally wore a straight narrow gown, which hung from under the breasts to the ankles and was held up either by a single shoulder strap, or one on each shoulder. The men wore a scarf wrapped around the hips and held in place by a tied belt, basically a loin cloth.
Egyptians even though they were in a warm climate clothes were commonly made of cotton and linen, the upper class wore a fine transparent muslin similar to fabrics in contemporary east India, it was woven from flax and grown in the mud flats of the Nile. Priests often dressed in leopard skin.They dressed in white similar to the Greeks. The jewelry of the Egyptians has never been surpassed in design or workmanship. Men and women wore earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets in pairs and also jeweled girdles. They were often made with turquoise, carnelian, coral, and lapis lazuli. Pearls and amber were used as beads.
Another interesting point of their fashion was their hygiene habits. Both sexes shaved their heads for religious reasons, the heat, and cleanliness. However, the would let their hair and beards grow when they were in mourning. Pharaohs and people in high positions wore the postiche which was the long pointed false beard, a woman if queen would also wear herself. Bathing was
Fall 2012
10-5-12
Synthesis Paper
My major is theatre with a costume design emphasis. I’m really excited to be able to write on a topic that is very interesting to myself. The clothing styles of ancient egypt and of ancient Greece have a lot thats different but at the same time a lot that is similar. How they dressed themselves was a lot more than just finding whatever you could to cover yourself, It was a way of showing status when walking around.
General Egypt
Egyptian clothing today is a lot different than It was 3000-525 B.C.E. Todays clothing, especially for women, is very modest and covers them up. It used to be that the thinner the fabric, the more important you were. The women normally wore a straight narrow gown, which hung from under the breasts to the ankles and was held up either by a single shoulder strap, or one on each shoulder. The men wore a scarf wrapped around the hips and held in place by a tied belt, basically a loin cloth.
Egyptians even though they were in a warm climate clothes were commonly made of cotton and linen, the upper class wore a fine transparent muslin similar to fabrics in contemporary east India, it was woven from flax and grown in the mud flats of the Nile. Priests often dressed in leopard skin.They dressed in white similar to the Greeks. The jewelry of the Egyptians has never been surpassed in design or workmanship. Men and women wore earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets in pairs and also jeweled girdles. They were often made with turquoise, carnelian, coral, and lapis lazuli. Pearls and amber were used as beads.
Another interesting point of their fashion was their hygiene habits. Both sexes shaved their heads for religious reasons, the heat, and cleanliness. However, the would let their hair and beards grow when they were in mourning. Pharaohs and people in high positions wore the postiche which was the long pointed false beard, a woman if queen would also wear herself. Bathing was