Ancient Egyptian Fashion and Dress

In 1851, an American woman named Amelia Bloomer shocked the powers-that-be by announcing in her publication The Lily that she had adopted the "Turkish dress" for her daily wear, and further provided her readers with instructions on how to make their own. This "Turkish dress" shocked the powers that be. The "Turkish dress" was a pair of light pants worn under a skirt, eliminating the heavy petticoats and undergarments that made up women's fashion. The fashion. At the time of Bloomer's announcement, upper-class women were wearing rather heavy skirts consisting of up to 16 petticoats, and lower-class women were almost equally constrained. These "Turkish" pants (later known as "lantern pants") freed women from the constraints of fashion and allowed them to move freely, and became one of the symbols of the new women's suffrage movement.

The women's suffrage movement had just met to issue a Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, and Bloomer's advocacy of the new styles was supported by one of the movement's key figures, Lucy Stone. Lucy Stone wore these pants in her speech on women's rights. It was Lucy Stone who encouraged Susan B. Anthony to take up the cause of the women's suffrage movement, and Anthony is now, of course, synonymous with women's rights.

All of these challenges to 19th-century patriarchy were very troubling for both women and men, but they were not surprising or conceptualized by the ancient Egyptians, who saw women as equals and whose sense of fashion long before the word was almost unisex, as understood by today's more "advanced" cultures. culture today.

Egyptian fashion was practical, simple, and for most people, the same clothes that women wore were worn by men. While upper-class women in the ancient Egyptian kingdom (2613-2181 BC) wore longer skirts to cover their breasts, lower-class women wore the same simple skirts as their fathers, husbands, and sons.

Early Dynastic Period and Ancient Kingdom

From the picture in Egypt Early Dynastic Period - Lower class in the same dress show for men and women (C 3150?2613 BCE.): knee-length, plain pleated skirts, probably white or light colored. This would have been made of cotton, linen or flax (linen) and tied at the waist with a belt made of cloth, papyrus rope or leather.

Upper Egyptians of the same period wore the same, only more decorated. Egyptologist Helen Strudwick observes that "it was only through jewelry that the rich could be distinguished from peasants and artisans" (374). Women's clothing between classes was more distinctive because upper-class women wore long, slender dresses with or without sleeves. These dresses were held in place by straps and were sometimes accompanied by a sheer corseted tunic.

*** *** Women's fashions were not noteworthy. Upper-class women's clothing sometimes began below the *** and went down to the ankles. As mentioned earlier, lower-class women's dresses had no tops from the waist to the knee. Before the advent of linen, people wore clothes made of animal skins or papyrus. Strudwick writes:

Shepherds, ferrymen, and fishermen relied mainly on a simple leather girdle from which hung a reed curtain; many also worked completely naked, at least during the Middle Kingdom - during which time it was rare to see a *** clothed laborer. Female millers, bakers, and harvesters are often depicted in wraparound gowns, but with the upper half of their bodies *** . (376)

Children of both sexes *** dress from birth through adolescence, and as Strudwick points out, a number of occupations perpetuate this practice. Laundresses and washerwomen who worked on the banks of the Nile every day washed other people's clothes because they often washed them in the water.

The First Intermediate and Middle Kingdom Periods

Egypt's First Intermediate Period (2181-2040 BCE) began with the collapse of the Old Kingdom, and Egyptian culture underwent many dramatic changes, but fashions remained relatively unchanged. Only in Egypt's Central Kingdom (2040-1782 BC) did fashion change as women began to wear long cotton robes and different hairstyles.

The gown in the Middle Kingdom would be made of a sheet of cloth in which a woman wrapped herself, and then a sash at the waist to which she could tie her blouse.

In the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period, women's hair was just below the ears in length, whereas in the Middle Kingdom period, their hair was draped over their shoulders. Middle Kingdom dress for the upper classes was also different because the garments were usually made of cotton. These dresses were still fitted and usually featured a low neckline at the sleeves and were adorned with a clasp necklace at the throat. These dresses would be made from a sheet of cloth that the woman would wrap herself in and then tie a belt around her waist so that she could tie her blouse around it.

However, during this same period, there is also evidence of upper-class women's dresses that ran from the ankles down to the waist, held up by thin straps that wrapped around the chest and tied around the shoulders at the back. Men of this time continued to wear simple skirts with only pleats in the front. It is not known exactly how the ancient Egyptians pleated their clothes, but artistic images clearly show the pleats on both men's and women's garments. The most popular garment of the upper class was the triangular apron; a short, sizing-decorated skirt just above the knee, tied with a belt. This could have been worn over a wrap, a triangular strip of cloth that ran between the legs and was tied around the hips.

In the New Kingdom

Following the Middle Kingdom, Egypt entered the Second Intermediate Period (1782-1570 BC), during which foreigners known as Hyksos ruled Lower Egypt, the Nubians controlled the southern borders of Upper Egypt, and in the middle only Thebes ruled on behalf of the Egyptians.

The Hyksos brought many advances, innovations and inventions to Egypt, which they later used in large numbers, but do not seem to have contributed to fashion. This is mainly because the Hyksos admired the Egyptian culture and emulated Egyptian beliefs, behaviors, and dress in their cities located north of the Delta.

C. In 1570 B.C., the Theban prince Ahmose I (1570-1544 B.C.) drove the Hyksos out of Egypt and ushered in the Egyptian New Kingdom period (1570-1069 B.C.), which witnessed the greatest advancement in the history of Egyptian fashion. New Kingdom fashion styles are the styles most often seen in movies and TV shows related to Egypt, regardless of the period in which they take place.

The New Kingdom was a time when the Egyptian Empire was on the international stage and in closer contact with other countries than ever before. However, even before the imperial era, fashion statements became more elaborate, and Ahmose-Nefertari (1562-1495 B.C.), wife of Ahmose I, is depicted in a dress with winged sleeves and a wide neckline that reaches up to the ankles.

Beaded gowns and dresses (the kalasiris which Herodotus mentions) embellished with jewels began to appear in the Late Antique villages but became increasingly common among the upper classes of the New Kingdom. Delicate wigs decorated with beads and jewelry also appeared more frequently at this time. Egyptologist Margaret Bunson notes that "shawls made of pure linen were a fashionable innovation in the New Kingdom" (68). A shawl, or stole, is a rectangle of twisted, folded, or cut linen, usually tied around a decorated collar. It was worn over a kalasiris that fell from the waist or under the chest and became a favorite style among the upper classes.

Men's fashion also developed rapidly in the New Kingdom. Short skirts of this period fell below the knee, were more intricately embroidered, and were often paired with sheer, loose-fitting tops. Pharaohs depicted in nemes headdresses often wore these clothes with sandals or slippers, and Bunson notes how men "wore kilt skirts with elaborate ruffled sleeves and sheer tops. Large swaths of woven material hung from the waist, and intricate pleats could be seen under the sheer overskirt" (68). This style was popular among royalty and the upper classes who could afford the materials.

The lower classes continued to wear simple skirts for both men and women, but more working-class women now wore covered tops. Previously, Egyptian servants were depicted as naked or nearly naked in tomb paintings and other art, but in the New Kingdom many servants were not only fully clothed, but also quite elaborately dressed. Strudwick writes:

The clothes worn by officials and dignitaries were more elaborate than those of the common people. A servant depicted in an Eighteenth Dynasty tomb wears a finely pleated linen corseted tunic and wrap-around cloth with a wide pleated girdle. (376)

Undergarments were also further developed during this period, evolving from the rough, triangular, wrap-around cloth that wrapped between the legs and around the waist to a finer cloth that was either sewn to a certain waistline or tied around the hips. The fashion for upper-class men in the New Kingdom was to wear an undershirt underneath this loincloth, with a long sheer shirt that hung down to the knees, a wide collar (for the nobility), bracelets, and sandals. King Tutankhamun (1336 - 1327 BC) buried more than 100 of these undergarments as well as shirts, jackets, skirts and cloaks, providing some of the best examples of New Kingdom fashion found to date.

Women's fashions during this period were more elaborate than in any previous era. Egyptian men and women often shaved their heads to prevent lice and to minimize the time needed to keep their hair intact. Both sexes used wigs to protect the scalp and for ceremonial purposes. New Kingdom wigs were the most ornate, especially for women, presenting ruffles, fringes, and layered hairstyles that reached shoulder length or below. Upper-class women preferred to wear sheer gowns made of light-colored fine linen, often adorned with a sash or cape, belted at the waist and accented with a headdress, necklace, and earrings.

A fairly consistent fashion style was also adopted by different professions. For example, a vizier wears a long (usually embroidered) dress which is tied under the arms and falls around the ankles along with sandals or slippers. Scribes wear simple knee-length skirts, sometimes with sheer tops. Priests wore white linen robes, and according to Herodotus, no other color could be worn because white symbolized purity and holiness. Soldiers, guards, and police forces also wore simple skirts with sandals and sometimes gauntlets. Farmers, brewers, tavern keepers, masons, laborers, and merchants of the period all wore the same simple kilt, for both men and women, although merchants sometimes appeared in robes or cloaks. Coats, jackets, and cloaks were common throughout Egyptian history because of the nighttime temperatures,

Footwear and Accessories

Perfumes and jewelry were loved and adored by both men and women, as were cosmetics. Both male and female Egyptians used kohl under the eyes to minimize the sun's glare, and kyphi was the most popular Egyptian perfume, considered so high that it was burned as incense in temples. Images of Egyptians wearing cones on their heads depict the use of kyphi in cone form. It consisted of frankincense, myrrh, turpentine, and other ingredients, and could be burned (as with the cone), applied to the skin, or used as toothpaste and mouthwash.

Kyphi was most often used by women in a manner very similar to how modern perfumes are used. A woman, or her maid, would open a container with kyphi, fan the air, and then move through the scent. The same was true of cosmetics, which were kept in jars or canisters and applied from these containers with a brush or reed, much like modern eyeliners.

The most popular form of jewelry in high society was gold. The Egyptian word for gold is nub, and once the southern lands were conquered, it became known as Nubia because of the vast quantities of gold found there. As Strudwick notes, all classes of Egyptians wore some kind of jewelry:

Almost all forms of jewelry have been documented, including finger rings, anklets, armbands, girdles and brooches, necklaces, torques, necklaces, crowns, earrings, earrings, and hair ornaments. Colored semi-precious stones such as cornelian, turquoise, feldspar, green and red jasper, amethyst, quartz, onyx and lapis lazuli were the most commonly used stones. However, they were often imitated by colored glass and faience. (386)

The lower classes almost *** shoes, but in cold weather or rough terrain they seem to wrap their feet in rags. The upper classes wore sandals and slippers, but like the lower classes, people usually walked barefoot. Sandals were made of wood, papyrus, leather or a combination of these materials and were quite expensive. Tutankhamun's tomb contained 93 pairs of sandals of various styles, even a golden pair. The slippers are made of papyrus grass woven together, but can be supplemented with fabric upholstery.

There is some evidence that New Kingdom nobles wore shoes and also used silk, but this is rare. In the case of the shoes developed by the Hittites, and by this time the boot, so it will not be surprising to see how they looked in Egypt. In 1258 BC, the Hittites and Egyptians signed the world's first peace treaty, and since then cultural diffusion between the two has been common. Nonetheless, the shoes never became popular footwear in Egypt because it may have been considered an unnecessary endeavor. After all, even the gods were barefoot.

Simplicity of manufacture and form

The earliest garments were probably papyrus reeds and animal skins, but this changed with the cultivation of flax, which was processed into fabric. Women were the earliest growers of flax and began the manufacture of clothing. Evidence for this claim is the oldest descriptions of textile production, showing women working, not men, and women continuing to work in textile production even though the industry was run by men. This is not at all unusual, as women were the earliest brewers in Egypt and were probably the first healers before the rise of the medical profession.

Making clothes began in the home, but soon became an industry once flax and later cotton became popular. Flax fibers were spun into thread and woven into a long piece of cloth on a horizontal loom, which was then cut. Even the most elaborate dresses and skirts were just bolts from this fabric that was rarely sewn into any shape. The kalasiris are much more than small pieces of a woman wrapped around her body; the individual turns that sheet into a dress through the personal skill of manipulating the fabric.

Simplicity was a core value of Egyptian fashion, even as New Kingdom styles became more elaborate. The basic concepts of Egyptian fashion also didn't change much from the Old Kingdom period to the Ptolemaic dynasty (323-30 BCE), the last dynasty to rule Egypt before it was annexed by Rome. The kinds of fashions seen in the later period are very close to those seen in the New Kingdom that followed the basic forms of Old Kingdom dress. It's safe to say that fashion has changed more radically in the last 150 years than in the entire span of Egyptian history, but that's only because the ancient Egyptians understood that simple styles tend to be the most elegant, and certainly the The most classic.