Greek Clothing

The ancient Greeks

wore clothing which was made out of either wool (tightly woven or thinly woven) or linen. The four basic types of clothing worn were the Doric Chiton, the Ionic Chiton, the Himation, and the Chlamys. Since it was hot the most of the year, their clothing was sleeveless. They did wear a short wrap called the chalmydon over their tunics (or also known as chitons) sometimes when it was cool. These chitons were large squares of colorful material which were held in place at the shoulders with pins. Then the individual would wear a belt around their waist which would further help hold the tunic or Chiton on. The wool was worn in the winter and the linen was worn in the summer.

Both the men and the women wore these tunics or chitons. The women’s cloth was wrapped so it covered the top and went to the floor. It was pinned into place and then the women too wore a belt. The chiton was wrapped so it was open down the left side. Another piece of clothing they wore was called the Himation. This garment consisted of a piece of wool with weighted corners which was slung over the left shoulder leaving the right arm free. Married women wore it with the corner of the head like a shawl. Older women wore it as their only garment. This piece of material was also many times used as a blanket. The garment could be seen in white, brown, black, crimson, died scarlet, and also purple. Sometimes it had selvages, woven patterns, or embroudery on it.

The Chlamys

is still another garment which was worn and it was a smaller woolen garment which was pinned at the right shoulder or the front of the garment. The younger, more active men wore it with a short chiton or alone. Another piece of clothing which was folded over and left hanging down across the top of the doric chiton, was called a peplos. The Greek babies were dressed in cloth diapers when it was hot and wrapped in blankets when it was cold. The children wore a piece of cloth wrapped around their middles, resembling a pair of shorts.

The wealthy people wore more colorful clothing than the common people. They could also have their garments made for them whereas the poor had to make their own for themselves and their families. The colors of the poor were more pale and not as colorful as that of those who were well off. The rich wore bright colors such as green, yellow, violet, dark red, and dark purple. There were also colors from the earth.