The Greek Gods

Ancient Greek fashion was simple and everyone dressed very much alike. About the only difference in the costumes was the color of the clothing. The people wore loose clothes and the weather was hot most of the year so they wore mostly linen and wool in the winter. The wool was either loosely woven or tightly woven. Long pieces of fabric cut into squares were used to make the clothing. There was no sewing done. The square piece of material was wrapped over the body and pinned together in different places to stay in place and then the person (men and women) wore a belt to aid in holding the garment on.

The main piece of clothing for the men was called a tunic known as a Chiton. These tunics consisted of a large square of material and it was pinned at the shoulders to hold it in place. Then the belt was also worn to help hold it in place. The women also wore a large square piece of linen or wool and was pinned onto the body and they also wore a belt. Their clothing went down to their ankles, which was different than the mens.

The Greeks could buy their pieces of cloth but they were very expensive so there were many low income people who had to make their own. Others sometimes had their slaves to make their clothing for them. Those who bought their clothing could buy it at the agora (or marketplace). The tunics which the wealthy wore were made of bright colored material and that of the poor was made from plain colors. In the cold weather they wore cloaks over their clothing. It was not uncommon for the Greeks to go barefoot, in fact, most of them did. For those who did wear shoes, they consisted of leather sandals or leather boots.

The hair of the Greek was worn curled, and arranged in an interesting and in designed styles. It was held in place with scanted wax or lotions, and headbands made from ribbon or metal. The women kept their hair long and in braids arranged on top of their head or in ponytails.

There were five basic styles of clothing or tunics. They were the Ionic Chiton, Doric Chiton, Himation, Chlamys, and the Peplos. Some of the most common colors used was the earthtones such as gray, brown, black, and white. The colorful colors used was dark red, dark purple, violet, yellow, indigo, and green. You can probably figure which colors were worn by the well off and which was worn by the lower income people. The Ionic Chiton was mainly seen as a female piece of clothing. The Himation was a rectangle piece of cloth which had weighted corners and was thrown over the left shoulder and this left the right arm free. This particular piece of material was also used as a blanket.