Greek Clothing
Greek women wore one large piece of wool or linen, wrapped around them and pinned in various ways to make it stay. The ways of pinning it changed over time. One way was to fold the cloth in half, and put it so that the fold in the cloth came under your right armpit and down your right side. Then pull up on the front and the back of the cloth so they meet over your right shoulder and pin the front and the back together with a big safety pin. Then pull more of the front up over your left shoulder, and pin it to the back in the same way. Finally you will notice that your dress is still open all along your left side: tie a belt around your dress at the waist to keep your dress closed. These dresses always came down to their ankles.
When it was cold, women also had long wool cloaks/blankets to keep them warm.
To find out more about Greek clothing, check out these books from Amazon.com or your local library:
Greek and Roman Fashions, by Tom Tierney (2001). Coloring book for kids.
Ancient Greek Costumes Paper Dolls, by Tom Tierney (1999). For middle schoolers. "An invaluable aid to designing an historically accurate costume for my 6th grader's 'Greek Festival'", says a reviewer on Amazon.
Costumes of the Greeks and Romans, by Thomas Hope (19th century, reprinted 1986). More advanced illustrations, for teachers and professional costumers.
Women's
Work: The First 20,000 Years : Women, Cloth, and Society in Early
Times, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber (1995). Not for kids, but an
interested high schooler could read it. Fascinating ideas about the
way people made cloth in ancient times, and why it was that way.
Spinning
Weaving
Greek food
Main Greeks page
Main clothing page
Ancient Greek Clothing - costumes, paper dolls, books, and toys
Kidipede - History for Kids home page
