Greek Fashion: The Fashion History Of Ancient Greece

Fashion History of ancient Greek The civilization of ancient Greece has left a rich heritage to posterity in her chaste and refined simplicity of dress. It is to the costume of Greece of twenty five hundred years ago that we turn for grace, beauty of line, refinement of detail, and unity of composition. In the study of Greek literature, painting and sculpture we may develop an appreciation of the entire field of Greek costume. Greek culture laid the foundation of European civilization. Land was mountainous and the only means of communication was the sea. It had the world’s first dramatically development. However, in Greece, women, slaves and foreigners were not considered important. They were not given the right to vote. People were fun loving, fond of music and believed that life after death was inferior. They buried as well as cremated their dead ones. The basic garment of the Greeks was vest. It was a rectangular piece of material with no stitching. Therefore the costumes of Greeks were a draped costume. Depending upon the method of wearing it, it can be divided into five categories.

The draped costume – This was the unstitched costume obtained by draping a piece of material around the body. e.g. the Himation and the Grecian pareo.

The slip-on costume – The slip-on costume is made from one piece of cloth or skin but with a hole from the head and hanging from the shoulders e.g. poncho and huque.

The sewn costume – This is made from several widths of material