The Greeks wore light, loose clothes as the weather was hot for most of the year. Long pieces of colourful fabric were used to make the Greek clothes. The main item of clothing for men was a tunic, called a chiton, These were big squares of cloth, held in place by pins at the shoulders and a belt round the waist. They were made from wool in the winter or linen in the summer. Women also wore clothing which was made from big square piece of linen or wool. They used pins in various places to hold it together. Unlike the men's, the dresses always went down to the ankles. The ancient Greeks could buy cloth and clothes in the agora, the marketplace, but that was expensive. Many of the clothes were made by the women and female slaves. Wealthy people had tunics made of coloured cloth. The tunics of the poor were plain. In cold weather, cloaks were worn. Most Greeks went barefoot. If they needed shoes, they put on leather sandals or boots.

During the period known as Archaic Greek, narrow pieces of wool were sewn together to make semi-fitted tunics. With the coming of the Golden Age of Greece in the 5th century B.C., the Greeks developed wider tunics of lighter and more supple linens and woolens than had been worn in the past. They also discovered the beauty of draping and pinning these soft fabrics around the body rather than cutting and sewing them. A rectangle of material was folded in half, and half was placed to the front and half to the back of the body to make tunics called chitons. Decorative pins or clasps called fibulae were used at the shoulders (and sometimes down the arm) to hold the material on the body. Women's chitons usually had an overfold at the top, like a bib, while men's did not. For outer wraps the Greeks wore either a short, square garment called a chlamys, fastened by a fibula on the right shoulder, or the rectangular himation, which was wrapped over the left shoulder and over the right arm. During the Golden Age, simplicity and beauty of draping were the ideal, and decoration was limited to simple, geometric borders. During the Hellenistic Age that followed, however, Greek clothing became rich, decorative, and complex.

In ancient Greece both men and women wore the chiton, a draped garment that was sewn up one side and fastened at the shoulder by a clasp or buckle. The woman’s garment fell to the ankles; the man’s usually reached only to the knees. The chiton was made of wool, cotton, linen, or silk. Two types of chitons were worn in ancient Greece. The Doric chiton was folded over at the top and held at the waist by a tied belt. The Ionic chiton, made of a lighter material, was closely pleated and had wide false sleeves. In time, the differences between the chitons began to disappear as the Doric was made of a lighter material and the Ionic lost its sleeves. Women wore the peplos over the chiton. The peplos was a rectangular cloth that was fastened at the shoulders and held in place by a high belt. Men wore either the chlamys, a short cloak that was folded over the shoulders, or the himation, a large, loosely draped cloak that was fastened over one shoulder

The content of this article provides interesting history, facts and information about Roman Clothes. The clothes of the Romans was simple. They usually wore 2-3 articles of clothing, not including shoes. All of the garments varied in the Roman clothing materials which were used. There was little change in fashion and style during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Early contact with the Greeks on the south and with the Etruscans to the north gave the Romans a taste for beauty that was expressed in the grace of their flowing robes.

Wool Felt Cotton Leather Linen Flax Gauze Damask Cloth of gold


Silk Bombycina. The Latin for Silk-worms is bombyces. Metaxa was also a term to describe silk material. Serica was the term for Chinese silk. The Chinese were called the Seres by the Romans. Cotton Carbasus taken from the Hebrew word for Cotton Heavy Linen and Cotton mix Carbasina was a heavy, durable linen cotton cloth Linen and Cotton Carbasus lina was a linen and cotton mixture. Linen Lina was the Roman term for linen Colored stripes on tunics Clavus is the Roman name for the woven, vertical strips of reddish purple on the tunic extending from each shoulder to the hem of the garment Cloth of Gold Lamé (Cloth of gold) was "a spirally spun gold strip". An extremely expensive ornamental material in which metallic threads are interwoven with silk, wool, linen, or cotton Wool Lana the Latin word for Wool Wool or Flax weave Lodex was a specialty wool or flax weave from Laodicea Felt Piloi is the name derived from the Greek word for felt (pilos) Damask Polymita an intricate damask made in Alexandria Gauze Ralla a type of gauze weave Woven Fabric Spissa was a closely woven fabric Fine Linen Sindon was a fine linen from Egypt Leather Leather was the most commonly used material for making shoes, sandals and as protective clothing for soldiers such as the cuirass and weather proof outer clothes

what men wore are Roman men also wore a tunic; however, only the workman or the slave appeared in it in public. The Roman citizen wore a toga over his tunic. The toga has been regarded as the masterpiece of draped garments. The garment had been adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans and was originally worn by both men and women. Its surface was unbroken, and it required no fastening with pins or buckles. The toga was a semicircular length of wool cloth that was draped according to an exact prescription. First the wearer arranged the toga in folds parallel to the straight edge of the fabric. Then he placed one end of the fabric over his left shoulder from the rear and brought the rest of the fabric across his back and under his right arm. Next he brought the length over his chest and his left arm and shoulder, thus securing the first end. The second end hung down his back.

women wore  The main items or garments of clothing worn by Roman Women were as follows: Fascia - a simple brassiere (bra) in the form of a band, tightly tied around the body Mamillare - Tight band bound about the bust worn over clothing Tunica - chemise Stola - robe Stophium - chord or girdle Palla - cloak Suffibulum - veil  The stola was an outer garment reaching the ankles. The stola was fastened round the body by a girdle with broad folds above the breast. The essential distinction between the tunic and the stola was that the latter always had an Instita or flounce sewed to the bottom of the garment reaching to the instep. The stola was usually fastened over the shoulder by a Fibula or clasp, and generally had sleeves. Over the stola the Roman women wore a long shawl, called a palla, when they went outside.