Clothes of ancient Egypt

Answer 1

Men of all social classes wore a wrap-round skirt called a schenti which was tied at the waist using a belt. The length of the schenti varied depending on the fashion of the time and how rich you were. In the Old Kingdom they were short while in the Middle Kingdom they were calf length. Throughout the ages the schenti worn by ordinary men remained short and plain. From about 1500BC (the beginning of the New Kingdom) it was fashionable for wealthy men to have the garment pleated.

Egyptian women wore full length tubular dresses with shoulder straps known as a kalasiris. This remained the basic type of garment worn by ordinary women for thousands of years. Like the men the clothing of wealthy women became more elaborate during the New Kingdom. It became fashionable for rich women have their dresses pleated or draped. Wealthy Egyptian men and women decorated their clothes, wore jewellery and wore elaborate wigs often made from real human hair.

The most common fabric was linen. It was light, fine and easily draped over the body. Linen is woven from vegetable fibres obtained from the flax plant, extensively grown in ancient Egypt. It was not the only material in use: papyrus was used for aprons and sandals; wool was woven into shawls and other outer garments. Leather was used to made sandals. The quality of cloth denoted your position in the pecking order. The higher a person's social rank the better quality cloth he or she wore. The Pharaoh's kilt was made of the finest linen, possibly embroidered with gold, whereas the commoner's kilt was made of plain cloth.

Household slaves or servants wore the same clothes as ordinary Egyptians. An important household slave or servant wore clothes similar to their master or mistress. Tomb paintings show slave girls, employed as dancers and musicians, wearing little or nothing in the way of clothes, decked out in necklaces and bracelets leaving little to the imagination.

The slaves working on the construction sites, on the land, in the quarries or mines went naked. This was dirty work and the white linen would have needed constant washing to keep it clean and would have been expensive to replace.

Children of all classes did not wear clothes until they were about six years old. After then they wore the same clothes as adults.

Most Ancient Egyptians went barefoot most of the time but wore sandals for special occasions or if their feet were likely to get hurt. The sandals worn by the poor were made of woven papyrus or palm while those worn by the rich were made of leather.

Colours were loaded with symbolism: green symbolized life and youth; yellow was the symbol of gold, the flesh of the immortal gods. Dyeing techniques with natural local ingredients had been developed in Egypt but was not well established as dyeing linen was difficult.

Answer 2

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