German clothing - Ancient Germany for Kids

German clothing

Column of Marcus Aurelius
German prisoners of war on the column of Marcus Aurelius, Rome

German clothing was like the clothing of Central Asia in that German men, and often women, wore pants under their tunics to keep them warm. This was different from the clothing of the Mediterranean and West Asia, where men and women both only wore tunics with nothing underneath. Both the Germans and the Romans thought of this as an important difference between them.

Another difference between Germans and Romans was in hairstyles. German men generally wore their hair long, but Greek and Roman men generally cut their hair. Also, most Roman men shaved their beards, but many German men did not. German women wore their long hair in braids, while Roman women generally piled theirs on top of their heads in buns.

In other ways, German clothing was very similar to Roman clothing. Both men and women wore tunics, and women's tunics were longer than men's tunics. Both men and women wore cloaks or capes over their tunics to keep warm. Because it was colder in Germany, people wore mainly wool rather than linen, and a lot of them wore fur capes or fur-lined pants also.

german spindle whorls

The Germans made clothes by spinning wool the same as the Greeks and Romans: here are some spindle whorls from northern France, from the Neolithic (about 3000 BC).

Main Germans page
Main clothing page


Cite this page: Carr, Karen (PhD).

Kidipede - History for Kids. 2012.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/germans/clothing/index.htm