(top) Painted fresco panel from Herculaneum, Italy. 1st c AD, Naples, National Archeological Museum.
In Ancient Egypt, clothing differed greatly between social class. Wool was common but was considered taboo since its fibers came from animals. e lower class wore loin cloth, which was the same for both genders. Braided leather or papyrus sandals were common for all classes. Light tunics with short sleeve became popular around 1425 to 1405 b.c. for the higher class such as priests and royalty. Women often wore a simple sheath dress, which would extend a few inches above the ankles. Two straps would hold the dress up. Some evidence shows that the dress was sometimes wore below the breast. Artifacts and paintings show that ancient egyptian women's clothing didn't change for over several millenniums.
Jewelry was a very popular accessory with upper class women. Precious stone was not used, however gold and semiprecious stone was used throughout ancient Egypt. Glazed composition and glass was used for imitation for semi precious stone. In this painting (to the left) two egyptian women are portrayed covered in jewelry from head down. Both are shown wearing thin white cloth. The jewelry and objects that are being held by the figure show that these two women are from the middle class. Fitted white material like this was common for most women in Egypt. The long braided down hair of the two women are wigs, which were popular in ancient Egypt. The rich vibrancy the artist uses for both of the figures show their social class and life style. The jewelry and skin tight cloth depicts the elongated feature both of the women have. Long vertical objects in the painting (such as the tule reeds and flowers) help the viewer understand the sense of tall, long, and delicate feature. |
Another important Ancient civilization that contributed to women's fashion was Rome. Women in ancient rome often wore tunics. The word Tunic comes from the Latin word tunica. The tunic, which was adopted from the greeks, was a simple rectangluar-styled garment that hung from the shoulder and draped around the body reaching around the ankles of the hips. However, after the 2 century B.C., togas were not worn by women as much, and became more of a garment for the men.
example of the women's toga is shown on the right>. Another form of clothing that was worn besides the tunic was the stola. It was similar to the tunic, was made from linen and had buttons. Around this time it was considered disgraceful for a woman to wear a tunic. Since it was mostly worn by men, it was associated with adultery and prostitution. Over the stole,women wore a palla which was a shawl made of an oblong material. It was similar to a small coat without a hood. In this painting to the right, the women is depicted wearing a stole. The woman is wearing light transparent sleeves which give her figure and portrayal a sense of elegance. The dark lining of turquoise on the lighter shades show highlight and texture. The single fluid brush strokes of white traveling down the girls stola gives the portrait a form of balance between the turquoise and the artists combination of warm colors. |
(top) Fresco of woman with tray in Villa San Marco of Stabiae
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