Egyptian Fashion in the Ancient Times

Egyptians valued family life. They treasured their children and regarded them as a blessing. In the lower class families, it was the mother who took care of the children. The upper classes had servants and slaves to look after the children and help around in the house.

Clothing was not much of practical need. It was more of a luxurious item. The more the people went up the social scale, more the clothing and jewelry they wore. Even so, the drapery of the clothing was light and was designed to accentuate the body shape, rather than conceal it. 

The most elaborate clothing was worn by the Pharaohs and their queens as a symbol of power. Jewelry was a very prominent costume focus. It was worn by both the sexes.

The Aristocratic Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs, instead of growing out natural hair. They eye makeup done during that time was by applying kohl. Both the men and women applied it. Perfumes and body oils were also used. 

 

Linen textile scraps still remain to indicate the fact they might have been using fine linens. The linen pleated garments were usually depicted were straight pieces and gave a body hugging stretch and wrapped around in various ways or tucked. The Egyptian artists were very good at showing proper human body proportions. Men were showed having muscular arms nd legs and had broad shoulders with slim bodies while the women had smaller waists, flat stomachs and rounded busts. Beadwork is shown through their art work and intricate weaves were also very common. 

The men wore knee-length skirts. It was usually made of loincloths, kilts made of linen. Even leather loincloth was seen. The garments were seen having decorations with gold threads and beadwork that was colourful. 

There were different types of clothing. A coat was made to cover the body from the hips to the abdomen, supported by a band passing over from one shoulder. This was the Kalasiris. There were many types of this particular garment. Some form of the kalasaris did not have a sleeve but some also had short sleeves or long and fairly wide sleeves. This garment also had width variations. The sewn type of kalasaris was short and it resembles a woman’s petticoat. The width of the material determined the length. Therefore it only has one seam. The folds were distributed at equal distances from the body. At times, it was also worn in an apron manner and because of that, it did not require any sewing it. The other type of kalasaris was the one that covered the whole body up to the neck and was made from a rectangular piece of material which was longer (as much as twice) that the garment. The sides were then sewn together. Later, came the sleeved kalasaris. The sleeves were either cut separately and sewn. Or there would be a slight change in the garment itself. 

 

 Other than the kalasaris, there were capes too. It was worn by both the sexes. The earliest version was used as a daily wear, had a circular shape. It was made out of linen painted in diverse colours.

Another style of the cape was made out of transparent materials. It fell from the shoulders till the elbows or a little above them. This cape would either be rectangular or circular in shape with a hole in the centre for the head to pass through. The rectangular one had stripes forming the cape and was laid over the shoulders, gathering on the breast and held by a clasp so that the ends would hang down loosely. The most important style of or element in clothing was draping. Each person had their own style of clothing and putting on garments the resembled each other in the way they were cut and styled.

 We still follow some forms and elements of Egyptian fashion in our daily wear as well. They left us with styles that are unique and increase the level beauty even today. 

Fashion of the Ancient Greeks

The Greeks did not make much of a fuss about the clothing. Their clothes had a very basic function, i.e. to cover and protect. It was all function based. Fabric was cut into a single piece and was styled or restyled according to the fashion of that time. The seams were easy and did not have a complicated style of clothing.

It was made out of the same piece of homespun fabric and was typically homemade. From all ancient Greek vase paintings and sculptures we can see that the fabrics were intensely coloured and were decorated with intricate designs. The clothing for both men and women consisted of two main garments which was a tunic which was either a Peplos or a Chiton. The other one was a cloak, called a Himation. The Peplos was a very large rectangular piece of fabric that was usually made of wool. It was folded over, along the upper edge, so that the over fold (Apoptygma) would reach around the waist line. It was wrapped around the body and had fastenings at the shoulders with a brooch or a pin. Armholes were present on each of the sides. The open side of the garment was either pinned, sewn for a seam or just left that way. 

 

There are some key elements in Greek clothing. First is the Doric Chiton which was a garment that was worn all the way to the sixth century. The Doric Chiton was wool dyed indigo, madder or even saffron. It was mostly patterned. To hang over the breast specifically, the upper edge was folded. Then the other fold was taken and was wound around the body, which was caught together on each of the shoulders by a pin or a brooch. This left the arms uncovered. Although it was open on the right side, it was  held in place by a girdle,on top of the waist. In Attica and Gorinth, the cities of that time, it was sewn together, with no open end on the right side. The garment grew wider and wider as time passed. The over fold was deepened so as to conceal the girdle by including it inside  the girdle or hung over it. 

 

If not girdled, the over fold could be worn over the head in the back as a shawl by raising it.

 The second element that can be noticed of Greek clothing is the Ionic Chiton. It was of Phoenician origin. It was seen as a garment for women but was worn by both the sexes.  The chiton was made out of thin woolens, crepe-like material. Linen , or a gauzy material was used as well. The fabric was cut with enough width from two pieces and then sewn together from the top of the extended arm. At times, it was pleated or just left to trail. Musicians and charioteers were frequently seen wearing this. The chiton was also worn with a chalmydon, which was a short wrap.

 

The third element or design was the Himation.  The Himation was a rectangular piece of cloth with weighed corners, which was slung over the left shoulder which left the right arm free or taken over the left side of the arm. The older men wore the Himation as the only garment and so did the Athenians. Funnily enough, the Himation also served as a blanketand also had woven patterns, selvages and embroidery. It was found in natural colours like white, browns, black crimson, or even purple. 

 

The fourth design is the Chlamys which is a smaller rectangular cloth made of wool. it was pinned at the right side of the shoulder or front, at times it was bordered, or just worn along with a short chiton. This was generally worn by men who were younger.  The fifth design was the Peplos which is a fabric folded over and hangs down, across the top of a Chiton. 

 

Overall, history tells us that the Greek clothing was primarily made of two types of materials. Firstly, they were made of wool. It was woven from very coarse to very soft types of wool. They also used linen in various qualities, from fine to very soft. The drapes in the Greek culture were not crisp and folded properly and the linen used was not as stiff as the ones used in Egypt.

The colours that were used during this period were bright hued like yellow, indigo, green, dark red, violet and earthy colors. The motifs had a vast range, from geometric patterns to arrangements of circles and squares to vegetable motifs like ivy, laurels and waterleaf. 

Plus and Proud

Miss Plus America is an exclusive pageant for the plus size women. They believe that every woman is beautiful, inside and out and deserves the opportunity to serve their community with a title worthy of their representation.  There are many more beauty pageants which are not the normal binge-and-purge Barbies of past pageantry. These are gorgeous full figured woman feeling confident about their bodies and what they wear. Actress Melissa McCarthy has also come out with her plus size fashion line. Melissa talks about the frustrations of shopping as a plus size woman. On an interview with Vogue she said “I just want to do a basic closet that I couldn’t find” “I want you to wear it and how you want to”

 

While Melissa McCarthy has her own plus size, Essie of Golden Kaleidoscope is plus-size model, a body positive advocate and respected voice within the plus size community and is plus-size fashion blogger as well.  She breaks the stereotypes that plus size women cannot be fashionable, sexy or on trend. Essie recommends all plus size girls to go ahead and be fearless while experimenting with different styles and silhouettes. Being a plus size herself, she loves body cons, curve hugging pieces , graphic tees, jeans and flats. 

 

The most challenging garment is the body con because it takes confidence and courage to carry it. Thankfully, there are many styles, colors, prints out there which can help decide what type would look good or not. Prints are always the best camouflage to hide those certain parts of the body which people are not comfortable o show. Details like twist fronts, zippers, peplums can also mask the tummy area. Also, do look at the type of fabric.  Lighter fabrics like elastane and polyester look better when there is an exact size. 

  

Other fashion styles can be a simple fringed tank top with the fringe all around the hem line. Denim ankle pants in soft, dark washed colors are a great option. A simple wrap style cocoon cardigan allows the wearer to layer over dresses, tank tops, tees, etc.  Asymmetrical plus size knit tee shirts are also something to look into. 

 

Last but not the least, pleated skirts add a dramatic look which can emphasize on the curve line of the waist. Pair the skirt with a soft blouse and strappy sandals to complete the look and you are all set to go! 

 

We can all see it clearly that the market for the plus size is growing and it will continue to grow. The plus size isn’t talking about the size actually, its is talking about the ability to buy the ‘correct’image. After all, isn’t fashion about accepting the fact that women are beautiful and powerful in every shape possible.

  

Are you, 'you' ?

What is it that makes us who we are? That's a question I seldom ask myself. Let me start by going a few days back when a tiny voice inside me asked a question. It said '' Is that really really you or you're being this just because?''

At first, I didn't know how to respond to that question and I let it fade away. They say when you realize something, just anything, you should catch it and hold on to it  and never let that feeling go. I did that. I did that nut in more selfish manner. A little note to you here: I say selfish because when I did listen to that voice, I  was busy nudging it away from myself and continued doing what recognized at that point of time as selfish. The thought was mostly ''Ok inner voice, you've had your say and you're right but I need to do this because I get all the attention and brownie points, so shush!"
All that i got as a reply was ' NO, I WILL NOT SHUSH"

A few days went by and that voice just kept bothering me. It wouldn't stop pestering me. After the 'incident' , I thought to just finish listening to what the tiny voice is actually saying. I questioned her and i said ''Why is it that you keep popping up every time I do something?" All that she said was ''Don't do that just for the heck of it. you have your own beauty, your skill. You have what it takes to be 'you' and no one else. So stop and just be what you are."

The aftermath of that conversation was actually very simple. I followed it up the next day. Courage was all that I needed with the help of, of-course, my own inner voice. All that I was, I stopped being. Stopped being what others wanted to see and became what I consist of. I bid goodbye to all the masks I owned and peeled out those false layers and just became what my core is. Just became me.