2. ~Introduction~
Fashion. Ahhh. Everyone adores fashion. What are
you wearing right now? T-shirts? Shorts? Dresses with a
belt? Well, everything we wear is developed from ancient
clothing, which I am going to tell you about right now.
Ancient people don't know a lot about fashion, but they
do, in fact, tries to be fashionable. Fun, huh? Listen for a
bit more. Here we go...
3. In Mesopotamia...
Mesopotamians have developed impressive skills
for clothing and textiles. The textiles were used for
trade purposes and were also given as gifts to kings
and queens. Although at first they still used animal
skins to protect them selves, but soon they learned
how to pound wool and goat hair into felts or
weave them into cloth. Wool was the most
common fabric used in Mesopotamia and it was
used for almost every type of clothing and
garments. Mesopotamians started using looms for
weaving in as early as 3000 B.C. The weaver’s skills
were extraordinarily--some clothes fragments found
in the royal tombs are as fine and detailed as
modern linen fabrics. At that time, linen was very
luxurious and was only woven for the wealthy
people. After several decades, soft cotton was
introduced in Assyria around 700 B.C.E. , and silk
became available later.
4. Fashion Trends?
The earliest civilization in Mesopotamia is
Sumerians. At first, the males typically wore waist
strings or loin skirts that barely covered anything.
The females wore only a shaw wrapped around their
bodies that were often decorated with simple patterns
and borders. Later on, though, the wraparound skirts
were introduced and they were usually decorated
with fringes or petal-shaped fabrics. Late Sumerians
wore more sewn outfits that were covered with tiers
of fringe. During the Babylonian rule, there were less
evidence about what people wore. Available ones
suggested that they still wore fringed shawls and skirts
similar to what Sumerians wore, but some men did
wear loins skirts. The Assyrians continued to wear
fringed and tiered clothes, including long shawls that
were wrapped around their bodies to nearly their
ankles and were held in place by a belt. Around
1,000 B. C. E. , Assyrian men started to wear short
sleeved knee-length tunics that were also held by a
belt. After Mesopotamia was conquered by the
Persian Empire, Assyrians also adapted to Persian
trousers.
5. In Egypt...
The most important fabric in ancient Egypt is
linen, made from flax’s fiber. Ancient Egyptian’s
weaving techniques were well-developed, and many
worker were involved with the production of linen.
It is light (which goes great with hot weather) and
easy to starch or stiffen into pleats and folds (which
was a really popular fashion trend for both men and
women, especially beginning in the Middle
Kingdom, from 2000 B. C. E. to 1500 B.C.E. ).
Linen is useful in other ways, too. Egyptians used
colours in special ways, like how blue represented
Amon, the god of air, green stood for life and youth,
while yellow is the symbol for gold. White is the
most common-used colour in ancient Egypt, which
represents purity. Luckily, white is the natural colour
of flax. Linen is also appealing in its thinness. It is so
thin, it could actually be made transparent. Which
Egyptians loved, because they’re not modest and
likes to show off their bodies.
6. Fashion Trends?
The ancient Egyptians were the first human
society to have their “own” style of clothing. They
idolize the human body, and tries to emphasis it
as much as possible. Ancient Egypt has really
warm weather, so they often tends to dress
lightly. For nearly 1,500 years it was very rare for
men to wear anything on their upper body.
Noble or upper class people usually wore a
schenti, a simple kilt that tied around the waist
and hung to their knees. Work men first wore
loin cloth, but after a while, loin skirts were
introduced, which was somewhat longer and
covers more skin than loin cloths. In about 1,500
B. C. E. Men started to wear simple tunics on
their upper bodies. The women also dressed
lightly, and they too, often bared their upper
bodies. A common female clothing back then is
called the Kalasiris - capes, which is a tube of
clothing that’s sewn along one side with one or
two shoulder straps.
7. In Greece...
Minoan Fashion Trends
In ancient Greece, clothing’s purpose
wasn’t only to cover and protect the body,
but also to decorate and enhance the beauty
of the wearer. The earliest civilization in
Greece is the Minoans, developed on the
Greek island of Crete in about 3,000 B.C.E.
Minoans created a thriving community and
managed to survive for a long time. Minoan
clothes were fitted very tightly and required a
lot sewing knowledge to make. Men usually
wore loin clothes and rarely covered their
upper bodies, while women wore bell-shaped
skirts with tiers. Minoans seemed to idealize
tiny waists, so both men and women wore
tight-fitted belts or girdles.
8. Mycenaean Fashion Trends?
When the Minoan culture disappeared
in about 1,600 B.C.E., Mycenaeans
eventually took lead. Influenced by the
Minoans, they wore similar clothing as to
the Minoans. Women still wore the same
long skirts and short-sleeved tops,
however they did occasionally cover their
upper body with a bib or blouse. Men
usually wore similar loin clothes as the
Minoans, but they were often seen to be
wearing short-sleeved tunics with a belted
waist as well. However the most
distinguishing clothing in the
Mycenaeans’s culture was the armors.
They were known as war-like people.
Soldiers will wrap their body from neck to
thigh in bronze plates, bronze leg guards,
and helmets constructed of boar's tusks.
9. Greek Fashion Trends?
While the Mycenaeans started to suffer from
famines and other disasters, another culture
developed quickly and soon conquered the
struggling Mycenaeans. The Dorians - ancient
Greeks - had great appreciation for naked bodies.
At first, they didn’t forbid people to be naked, at
least for men. Men were always encouraged to
stay naked for athletic games and exercises. By
the seventh century B.C.E., Greek was ruled by a
wealthy class who wore finely woven clothes and
decorative jewellery. Starting at this time until the
invasion and the defeat of the Romans, the
Greeks have developed several styles of clothing.
They draped finely woven cloth over their bodies.
The most distinctive Greek garment is the chiton,
or tunic. There were 2 different styles of it: the
Ionic chiton and the Doric chiton. They were
usually crinkled or pleated to enhance the
fullness of the fabric. Over top of the chiton, the
Greeks usually wore a wrap to keep them warm.
There were a variety of them, including the
himation, chlamys, chlaina, and diplax.
10. Greek Fashion Trends
Continued...
The draped fashion continued to be
popular, but by the fourth century both
women and men began to wear sewn tunic
with a U or V neck. Although many people
think the Greeks only wore white, the
ancient Greeks loved colour, and many dyed
their clothes. Wealthy aristocrats wore
purple clothes dyed from a species of
shellfish or pure white linen robes. Yellow
clothes were worn mostly by women. Black
clothes were worn by those mourning the
death of a loved one. Peasants dyed their
clothing a variety of greens, browns, and
grays. Soldiers wore dark red garments to
minimize the appearance of blood on the
battlefield. Additionally, they added
decorative, colourful designs by painting,
embroidery, or weaving. Garments were also
decorated with geometric shape patterns or
trimmed with colorful border designs.
11. In Canda...
In Canada, there are not a preference of fabrics. Many were
used: from linen to wool to cotton to leather, from finely made
to delicately sewn, from edgy and chic to fresh and colourful to
ruffled and cute...LOADS of trends and designs to choose
from. People really got fashionable these days, huh?
12. Fashion Trends & Stores?
Canada is, indeed, a multicultural country. It has many fashion
trends (and brands), but almost all of them are from the other
countries. As time passes, even more is coming up. Right now there
are so many of them, you can’t count them using all of your fingers
and your toes. Some examples are denim, wraps, ruffles (Lolita
Fashion), T-shirts, etc. There many clothing stores in Canada: In
fact, if you go into a mall, most of the stores will be selling clothes of
some sort. However, few are genuine Canadian. Some of the well-
known clothing brands in Canada are Roots, Lululemon, Canada
Goose, Arc'teryx, etc.
