Ancient Greek Fashion

Appearance was very important to the Ancient Greek men and women. It was “socially unacceptable to be dirty, slovenly, or unkempt.” They are similar to the modern day people in that way, they are also similar to us in some other ways too. Some ways that the Greek used similar styles and accessories include: cosmetics, jewelry, clothing, and hair.

One thing that the Greek’s did just like us was hiding their flaws with makeup. Pale skin was desirable to the Ancient Greek women so they stayed inside most of the time. They used a white lead, which was toxic, to lighten their complexion. They also occasionally used white chalk but it wore off quickly. Unibrows were also popular to the Ancient Greek women so they shaded their eyebrows with dark powder. (Rymer) The Greek women used red powder made of alkanot root on their cheeks; this was analogous to modern day blush. A round, flat pot was used to hold perfumes and makeup, it was called a pyxis. (Day, 40) We use a lot of product similar to these today.

Another thing was that they wore jewelry. Many women in ancient Greece had their ears pierced, and wore earrings. They also wore bracelets, necklaces, and anklets. They carried fans made of light wood or peacock feathers. Men wore jewelry until the fourth century. Even after the fourth century they still wore an unusual ring. This ring had a functional design on it used to stamp soft clay which, is used to seal documents. (Day, 41; Rymer)

Though Modern day people don’t wear quite the same style clothing as the Greeks, we wear things like hats and shoes just like them. (Adkins, 47) The himation was a large rectangle draped over the body. (Adkins, 48) Since Greece had a warm climate, people typically went barefoot but occasionally wore boots or sandals. The sandals were made of leather and had long straps that could be tied in different ways to change style. The Thessalian petasos was a hat with a low crown, a wide brim, and a cord so the hat hung on the upper back when you flipped it off. It protected you from the sun. (Adkins, 49) The rich paid to have their cloth dyed. (Rymer; Connolly) Workers made the purple dye from sea snails, and the violet dye from bug larva. (Connolly) The Greek wore loose fitting clothing, while the people the Greeks referred to as barbarians wore tight clothing. (Rymer) Most people wore woolen cloth or linen. The poor wore coarse cloth made of animal hair. (Connolly) The Greeks wore heavy wool cloaks during the winter for warmth. (Rymer) The Greeks Dressed to impress their friends, much like why modern day people dress.

Men and Women wore different styles of the same thing just like today. Men’s chitons were sewn up at the sides and worn knee length. Old men wore them on formal occasions to the ankle. (Adkins, 48) Workmen and farmers also wore short chitons and soldiers wore them under their armor. (Day, 38) The men’s himation was tightly woven around the body and thrown over one shoulder. (Adkins, 48) Men sometimes wore the himation over the chiton. In cold weather they pulled the himation over their head. Soldiers also wore a thicker clothed cloak called the chlamy. They used a brooch or a pin to fasten it. (Connolly) Though men did wear all these types of tunics; they found it more practical to go nude, but they didn’t do that when women were around. They went nude when swimming, doing sports, and working in hot places like the potters kiln room. (Day, 38)

Women fastened their Chitons with buttons, pins, and brooches just like we wear today. They wore the chitons ankle length. The female version of a himation was a loose cloak that covered a woman from head to foot. Greek women draped brightly colored light weight scarves over their chitons and himations. The ancient Greek women wore peplos, a tunic that fell to their feet. They would pin the extra cloth around their shoulders. Women always wore a cloak outside. Greek women rarely wore shoes but they occasionally wore sandals. Although they had many beautiful outfits, women in Sparta (a town in Ancient Greece) wore little or no clothing when
exercising. (Connolly; Adkins, 49)

We borrowed lot of hair styles from the Greeks. Ancient Greek men and women liked mirrors and brushes. They liked to curl and style their hair. They held their hair in place with lotion and waxes. Blondes were extremely rare. Greeks admired blonde hair and a great number of them tried bleaching heir hair to have the stunning blonde look. Obviously the Greeks really cared about their hair so they had high standards. (Martin)

The Ancient Greeks and modern people al wore beards. Beard trimming became an art in ancient Greece. Barbers were leading citizens. Some men lost the office position to an opponent who had a better trimmed beard. The barber shop first became popular in ancient Greece. Men went to the barber shop to discus sports, politics, news, philosophy and gossip. Young men usually had a clean-shaved face. Men wore short hair with beards but then, beards went out of style in the Hellenistic period. (Chavez; Day; Connolly)

Women also wore accessories that we use today. Women enjoyed curing and braiding their hair in early Greece but later found it much easier to tie it back or make a bun. Ancient Greek women liked to wear ribbons and headbands in their hair. Having short hair if you were Greek women was very shameful. Only slaves had short hair. Amazingly the Greeks share some hairstyles with modern day people all over the world. (Rymer)

We borrowed a lot of accessories and styles from the Greeks. We use blushes like them, rings and other jewelry like them, head bands like them. We go to the barber like them, and more. Both the Greeks and us take great value in our appearance.





 Adkins, Lesley, and Adkins, Roy A. Handbook to: Life in Ancient Greece. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

 Connolly, Peter. Ancient Greece. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

 Chavez, Eugene W. “Genes Barber Shop- the history of barbering” Genes Barber Shop Genes barber shop March/1/2008 http://www.genesbarbershop.net/barbering_history.html

 Day, Nancy. Your Travel Guide To: Ancient Greece. Minneapolis: Runestone Press, 2001.

 Rymer, Eric. “Fashion in Ancient Greece.” Eric Rymer. 2000. Eric Rymer. 3/9/2008. http://historylink102.com/greece3/fashion.html

 “Greek Hair Styles.” Phillip Martin. Ancient Greece for Kids. 3/14/2008http://greece.mrdonn.org/hairstyles.html