Ancient Greek clothing was loose, flowing, and made of linen or wool. There were three main types of garments: the chiton, which was a simple tunic; the himation, a cloak or outer garment; and the peplos, a tubular garment worn by women. Colors and jewelry were also important in fashion. Hairstyles and the use of cosmetics differentiated social classes and changed over time. Overall, ancient Greek clothing was influenced by the climate and emphasized simplicity, drapery, and revealing the shape of the body.

1. GREEK FASHION
Meerie Park

2. Ancient Greek – Clothes
 The kind of clothing worn in
ancient Greece was loose
and flowing and hardly were
the garments ever sewn
together
 The fabrics used were mainly
linen or wool
 Women also wore a veil with
their clothing whenever they
stepped out of the house
 In fact, the ancient Greek
fashion was quite modern in
its outlook as far as men were
concerned to the extent that
male nudity was really not a
big deal in ancient Greece

3. Ancient Greek – 3 types of
clothes
 Chiton
 Was worn in the ancient Greece by
men as well as women
 This form was of clothing was of
clothing was quite popular in ancient
Greek fashion
 The chiton could be worn with a
himation or it could be worn without it
as well
 A belt was also worn with the chiton,
which was called the zoster
 The Doric chition consisted of two
pieces of cloth, which were rectangular
in shape, and was worn long
 The Ionic chiton differed from the Doric

4. Ancient Greek – 3 types of
clothes
 Himation
 When the himation was being worn in ancient Greece, it represented a
form of outdoor wear
 The himation is also an important garment of ancient Greek fashion
 This was generally made from a rectangular piece of wool with the use of
lighter fabrics, the himation was worn at any time of the day
 The himation was loose and flowing, thus, it can be termed as a modern
cloak—it was also used as a form of drapery to be worn over the chiton
 The himation can be compared to the Roman toga, the only difference
being that the himation has less volume in the fabric
 When worn solo, the himation was known as the achiton.

5. Ancient Greek – 3 types of
clothes
 Peplos
 Women often wore the peplos and these go back to the period before 500
BC—this can be described as a piece of woollen material and was styled
as per the height of the wearer
 The peplos consisted of a tubular shaped cloth—this was folded from the
inside out
 The top area of the tube usually gathered at the waist and the bottom
area extended till the ankles
 The cloth on the upper area was brought underneath the left arm—this
was secured with the help of tapes or pins on the right shoulder
 The top layer of the cloth, which draped the waist often gave the
appearance of two pieces of cloth
 There were certain types of patterns that were used for the peplos. Some
of the common patterns included checks, flowers, waves or even stripes.
When women wore the peplos, the arms were generally left bare. When
the fabric hung at the front area, folds were generally formed and these
were also fastened on the shoulders.

6. Ancient Greek – Chalmys
 Chlamys
 The chlamys was also flowing
in its appearance and was
mainly worn by the soldiers in
ancient Greece.
 The chlamys was used as a
cloak and was pinned at the
right shoulder
 The chlamys was also worn
with other forms of clothing
 Generally, soldiers only used it
as a form of a cover
 This was worn pinned at the
right arm

7. Ancient Greek – Colours
 Colours also played a big role
in ancient Greek women’s
fashion
 Different colours symbolized
different things
 For example, a dark veil was
a sign of mourning—in the
book TheIliad, Homer writes
that Thetis wears an indigo
veil and Homer writes, "The
radiant queen of the sea-
nymphs seized a veil, blue-
black, no darker robe in all
the ocean depths."

8. Ancient Greek – Colours
 Commonly Used Colors
 violet
 green
 grey
 In 500 B.C.E., to 400 B.C.E., ancient
Greek women wore many fashions
 Their clothing became more
elaborate and more detailed as the
century passed
 The colors became brighter, and new
styles were developed
 The changing of fashion for the
Greek women relates to all societies
 As time goes on, fashion everywhere
changes, just as it did for ancient

9. Ancient Greek – Jewelry
 Jewelry did form a significant
part of ancient Greek fashion
 was discovered with the
findings of jewelry at the
Greek sites which proves that
women in ancient
 Greece loved to wear all
sorts of jewellery with their
flowing garments—bracelets,
earrings and necklaces
 Even men were not left
behind as far as ancient
Greek fashion was
concerned. It is known that
men wore jewellery till the 4th
century

10. Ancient Greek – Make-ups
 Ancient Greek women also
used make up—pale or light
skin was considered a status
symbol for women
 Women used honey and olive
oil to improve their skin
 They often used substances
as a substitute for cosmetics
for enhancing their looks
 Dark powder was dusted over
the eyebrows and red powder
was used over their lips
 Women also loved to wear
their hair long during this
period.

11. Ancient Greek – Hair styles
 Hairstyles in ancient Greece
also changed over time
 In the early days of Greece,
men normally wore their hair
short and grew beards
 During the Hellenistic era,
beards went out of style
 Long hair was typical for
Greek women; only slave
women would wear their hair
short
 Women curled and braided
their hair in early Greece
 Later the style was to tie their
hair back or put it up into a