Clothing

IV

History of Clothing Around the World

In addition to factors such as climate and natural resources, historical changes in religion and culture also exert an influence on clothing. For example, most people of ancient Egypt wore few clothes because of the hot climate. After the introduction of the Islamic religion, with its emphasis on physical modesty, in the 7th century ad, Egyptians began to wear more concealing clothing, which included veils for women.

Political history also affects clothing styles. After conquering a region, conquerors usually introduce their own type of clothing. From about 1500 on, European colonial expansion brought European clothing to other continents.

The following sections summarize the history of clothing in different parts of the world.

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The Ancient Western World

The ancient western world consisted of civilizations that developed on lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It encompassed ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Crete, Greece, and Rome.

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Egypt

'She who was rich in fine linen, who loved clothes, lies in the cast-off garment of yesterday.' So begins an ancient Egyptian funeral lament. Although ancient Egyptians usually wore few clothes, clothing was important in their culture. A papyrus drawing from a collection of religious texts known as the Book of the Dead depicts Egyptians growing flax, a plant that yields fiber for linen. A three-dimensional wooden model of a weaving workshop that was found in an ancient Egyptian tomb shows workers spinning linen thread and weaving it into cloth. Archaeologists have also retrieved garments from tombs along the Nile River valley.

A dress from about 3000 bc, excavated in ad 1912, was rediscovered in 1977 among a bunch of dirty linen rags in a museum in London, England. It later went on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, also in London. Perhaps the world's oldest fully preserved garment, this dress consists of a skirt attached to a pleated bodice (fitted upper part) with a V-shaped neckline and long sleeves. Two other ancient Egyptian dresses survive from about 2400 bc. Surviving garments worn by Egyptian men include shirts, tunics, and loincloths. These garments suggest that ancient Egyptian art depicting Egyptian dress exaggerated the extent to which clothing revealed the body.

The ancient Egyptians did expose much of the body, however, and children, slaves, and entertainers often wore no clothes at all. The Egyptians fashioned most articles of clothing out of lightweight linen rectangles. Because the basic items of clothing were simple, the quality of the fabric and the use of accessories typically indicated the social status of the wearer. Finely pleated fabrics were highly valued.

The basic attire for ancient Egyptian workers was a simple loincloth. Men of the upper class wore a wrapped skirt that somewhat resembled a kilt over the loincloth. This skirt was called a shenti. By 2800 bc the shenti was knee length; by the 1700s bc some shentis fell to the ankle. By 1100 bc men wore a close-fitting shenti and a fuller long one. During the reign of King Tutankhamun (1333-1323 bc), the shenti had a triangular projection in front. Cloaks or capes were draped over the shoulder. For shoes, the Egyptians wore sandals of leather or rush (a stiff marsh plant) fastened with a thong and a strap across the instep.

Women wore a long sheath dress called a kalasiris, which extended to the ankles and was held in place by one or two straps over the shoulders. Later, some of these dresses had sleeves sewn in. The kalasiris followed the outline of the body, but it was probably not as form-fitting and sheer as represented in art. From about 1600 to about 1000 bc Egyptian women also wore a loose, sleeveless cloak, called a haik, over the kalasiris. The Egyptians favored white for most clothing, but by the 15th century BC they used colors, including yellow, red, blue, and green. Woven patterns and embroidery added borders and designs to clothing.

Both men and women wore jewelry and headgear in ancient Egypt. Gold jewelry, set with carnelian and turquoise, included necklaces, pectorals (pendants worn on the chest), amulets (charms against evil), earrings, bracelets, and wide, jeweled collars. Headgear was rich and varied. Women of elite classes often wore gold headbands that wrapped across the forehead and around the head. The crown was a royal symbol of authority, and several different types of crowns represented authority over different regions.

Many ancient Egyptian men and women shaved their heads and wore wigs. Women painted their lips and, using a reddish-orange dye prepared from the leaves of the henna plant, colored their fingernails. Men and women also painted their eyelids with kohl, a preparation made from soot or a substance called antimony. Kohl was similar to the eyeliner used by women today.

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Mesopotamia

At the same time that Egyptian civilization flourished along the Nile River valley, civilization thrived in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now Iraq. Mesopotamian culture endured through several changes in ruling ethnic groups. The earliest people to govern Mesopotamia, from about 3500 to 2500 bc, were Sumerians. Babylonian rule began in about 2000 bc, followed by Assyrian domination starting in about 1000 bc. In 539 bc the Persians conquered Mesopotamia, led by Cyrus the Great.

Whereas the Egyptians generally wore lightweight linen clothes, the Sumerians and their successors favored heavier woolen garments. Wool was produced in Mesopotamia for export as well as for domestic use. The traditional Mesopotamian garment was a woolen skirt; over time, a T-shaped tunic (loose-fitting garment extending to the knees) replaced it. Shawls were draped around the upper torso. Embroidery and fringe generally ornamented Mesopotamian tunics and shawls, and dyes gave clothing a variety of colors. Priests determined which colors were suitable for particular occasions. Men wore beards, and some Mesopotamian sculptures show the men in turbanlike hats.

Veils were worn in Mesopotamia, and they still constitute an important component of dress for women in many areas of the Middle East. Assyrian legal codes specified that only free, married women could wear veils; these codes specifically prohibited slaves and prostitutes from wearing them. The association of veiling and status persisted in Middle Eastern cultures; in early-20th-century Egypt and Arabia, veils were a sign of high social status and feminine modesty. However, the significance of veiling varied according to time and place. For example, in mid-20th century Iran, members of the urban elite class began to adopt Western-style clothing and to associate veiling with the less-educated classes.

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Persia

The Persians, based in what is now Iran, ruled an empire in the 6th century bc that included most of the Middle East and Egypt. They introduced two garments to the history of clothing: trousers and seamed fitted coats, both probably first made from animal skins. These tailored garments differed significantly from the woven rectangles of cloth generally worn in the Mediterranean region, and they served to protect people from cold weather. They were adopted for that purpose by peoples of Central Asia and northern Europe. People who rode horses valued trousers for use when astride, and in that capacity trousers spread to China and India, as well as to the Celtic peoples of northern Europe.

It is worth noting that throughout most of history trousers have not been associated with men. In China, both men and women, especially those who worked the land, wore trousers. In the Ottoman Empire (based in what is now Turkey), women wore trousers. Only in European cultures did trousers become associated with men.

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