Ancient Greek clothing was typically homemade and the same piece
of homespun fabric that was used as a type of garment, or blanket.
From Greek vase paintings and sculptures, we can tell that the
fabrics were intensely colored and usually decorated with intricate
designs. Clothing for women and men consisted of two main
garments-a tunic (either a peplos or chiton) and a cloak
(himation). The peplos was a large rectangle of heavy fabric,
usually wool, folded over along the upper edge so that the over
fold (apoptygma) would reach to the waist. It was placed around the
body and fastened at the shoulders with a pin or brooch. There were
armholes were on each side, and the open side of the garment was
either left that way, or pinned or sewn to form a seam. The chiton
was made of a much lighter material, normally linen. It was a very
long and very wide rectangle of fabric sewn up at the sides, pinned
or sewn at the shoulders, and usually girded around the waist.
Often the chiton was wide enough to allow for sleeves that were
fastened along the upper arms with pins or buttons. Both the peplos
and chiton were floor-length garments that were usually long enough
to be pulled over the belt, creating a pouch known as a kolpos.
Under either garment, a woman might have worn a soft band, known as
a strophion, around the mid-section of the body. Men in ancient
Greece customarily wore a chiton similar to the one worn by women,
but knee-length or shorter. An exomis (a short chiton fastened on
the left shoulder) was worn for exercise, horse riding, or hard
labor. The himation (cloak) worn by both women and men was
essentially a rectangular piece of heavy fabric, either woolen or
linen. It was draped diagonally over one shoulder or symmetrically
over both shoulders, like a stole. Women sometimes wore an epiblema
(shawl) over the peplos or chiton. Young men often wore a chlamys
(short cloak) for riding. Greek men occasionally wore a
broad-brimmed hat (petasos), and on rare occasions, Greek women
donned a flat-brimmed one with a high peaked crown.
