Costumes in Egypt

• 16 / 5 / 2023

Egyptian fashion was practical and simple, and for most of the population, the same type of clothes as a woman was worn by a man. Upper-class women of the ancient Egyptian kingdom (2686-2181 BC) wore longer dresses that covered their breasts , but women from the lower classes wore the same simple skirt as their fathers, husbands and sons

Images from the Early Dynastic period of Egypt (c.3150 - 2613 BC) show lower-class men and women wearing the same type of dress: a knee-length skirt, probably white or light in color. It would have been made of cotton, linen or besus (linen) and fastened around the waist with a cloth belt, papyrus cord or leather. Upper-class Egyptians of the same time period wore the same outfit only with more decoration. Only by their jewelry could Men of the rich class be distinguished from farmers and artisans. Women's dress was more distinctive among the classes as upper-class women wore a long, form-fitting dress with or without sleeves. These dresses were held in place with straps on the shoulders, sometimes they were complemented by a transparent robe worn over them. The fashion of women who bare breasts was not a concern. Women's dresses of the upper class sometimes started under the breasts and reached the ankle. Women's skirts of the lower class, as noted, were from the waist to the knees without a top. Before the development of flax, people wore clothes made of animal skins or woven papyrus reeds. Children of both sexes were not dressed from birth until adulthood, and some professions, continued this practice. The workers and laundresses who worked daily on the banks of the Nile washing other people's clothes performed their tasks naked because they were in the water a lot.

The first transitional period of Egypt (2181-2055 BC) followed the collapse of the ancient Egyptian kingdom and launched many radical changes in Egyptian culture but the fashion remained relatively the same. Only in the Middle Egyptian kingdom (2055-1650 BC) did fashion change as women began to wear long cotton ponchos and various hairstyles.

In the era of the Old Kingdom and the first transitional period, women were depicted with a length of hair below their ears, while in the Middle Kingdom, their hair was worn over their shoulders. The dress of the Middle state of the upper class also differed in that the clothes were often made of cotton. These dresses, which still fit the figure, were often sleeved with a plunging neckline, decorated with a necklace at the throat. These dresses will be made from one piece of fabric that the woman will wrap and then arrange for a style with a belt around the waist from which she can wear the top.

From the same period, however, there is evidence of upper-class women's dresses that rose from the ankle to the waist and were fastened with thin straps that passed over the breasts and fastened to the shoulders at the back. It is not known exactly how the ancient Egyptians folded their clothes, but the images in art clearly show folds in men's and women's clothing. The most popular garment among the men of the upper class was the triangular apron; a starched and decorated kilt fell just above the knees and fastened with a hood. It could be worn over an apron which was a triangular strip of fabric that ran between the legs and tied from the hips

After the Middle Kingdom era, Egypt entered the second transitional period (1650-1550 BC) where foreigners known as Hyksos ruled from Lower Egypt, and the Nubians retained the southern borders of the upper with only Thebes in the middle representing the Egyptian base.

They do not seem to have contributed to the fashion. This is largely due to the admiration of the Hyksos for Egyptian culture and The Imitation of Egyptian beliefs, behavior and dress in their cities in the northern Delta.

In 1550 BC, King Ahmose I brought the Hyksos out of Egypt and began the period of the Egyptian New Kingdom ( 1550-1077 BC), which witnessed the greatest developments in fashion in Egyptian history. The fashion styles of the New Kingdom are those that are most often depicted in films and TV shows dealing with Egypt regardless of the time period in which they are set.

The new kingdom was the era of the Empire of Egypt when the country rose to the international stage and came closer to close contact with other states than it had been in the past. Even before the era of the Empire, fashion statements became more detailed. She portrayed the wife of Ahmose I, Ahmose Nefertari in a dress with winged sleeves and a wide collar located above her ankles.

Beaded gowns and dresses decorated with jewels began to appear in the late Middle Kingdom but became more common in the New Kingdom among the upper classes. Elaborate wigs decorated with beads and jewelry also appear with greater frequency at this time. A hat made of pure linen was a fashion innovation in the era of the New Kingdom. The hood, or head shawl, was a rectangle of twisted, folded or cut linen, usually tied to a decorative collar. It was worn over dresses that fell either from the waist or just below the breasts and became the most popular style for the upper classes.

Men's fashion has also progressed very rapidly in the modern kingdom. The cuffs of this period fall below the knee, they are more intricately embroidered, they are often complemented by a loose transparent blouse. Depicted in a mongoose headdress, it is often seen in this type of clothing wearing either sandals or slippers. They wore transparent skirts and blouses with elaborately pleated sleeves. Large panels of woven material hanging from the waist and intricate folds were visible under the transparent skirts. This style was popular with royalty and the upper classes who could afford to buy materials.

The lower classes continued to wear the simple kilt for both sexes, but now more working-class women appear with hooded shirts. Previously, Egyptian servants were depicted in tomb paintings and other works of art as naked or semi-naked, but in the modern kingdom, a number of servants appear not only fully dressed but in rather elaborate dresses.

Underwear was also developed during this period, evolving from a coarse triangular apron wrapped between the legs and around the waist to a finer piece of fabric either sewn to a certain size of the waist or tied at the hips. The fashion for upper-class men in the new kingdom was such underwear under an apron fabric over which a long transparent shirt falling to the knees, a wide-necked cut (for nobles), bracelets, sandals were worn. King Tutankhamun was buried with more than 100 of these types of underwear as well as shirts, jackets and cloaks, providing some of the best examples of modern kingdom fashion found to date.

The costumes of women of that period were more elaborate than in any previous era. Men and women in Egypt often shave their heads to prevent lice and to reduce the time it takes to maintain a full head of hair. Wigs of both sexes were used to protect the scalp and for ceremonial purposes. Wigs in the era of the New Kingdom are the most decorative, especially for women, and hairstyles with pleated, fringed, multi-layered shoulder-length or down appear in them. Translucent gowns made of light linen were preferred by women of the upper class, often decorated with a scarf or robe, tied with a belt at the waist, decorated with a headdress, necklace and earrings.

Different professions have also adopted fairly consistent styles of costumes. For example, ministers wore a long skirt (often embroidered) that fastened under the arms and fell to the ankles with sandals or slippers. Clerks wore a simple kilt from the waist to the knee, sometimes seen in a transparent blouse. The priests wore white linen robes and, according to Herodotus, they could not wear any other color as pure white and holy. Soldiers, guards and police forces wore the simple kilt with sandals and sometimes wrist guards. Farmers, brewers, Tavern keepers, builders, workers and merchants are uniformly depicted from this period in the same simple kilt, male and female, although sometimes the merchant appears in a robe or Cloak. Coats, jackets and cloaks have been as popular throughout the history of Egypt as the temperature at night.