In Ancient Greece, male everyday dress was very similar as shown in this image right of the
Greek poet.
Beside him is a trumpeter who would have called men to
battle.
For drama productions, carnival floats, re-enactment or fancy dress purposes
it is always essential to get the hair and feet as correct as practical.
Greek sandals when worn, were a very simple affair of a piece of leather
wrapped around the sole of the foot and thonging was used to lace the
leather to get it to stay on the foot.
For
men in particular the costume is fairly simple, the exception is the highly
ornate Grecian helmet used as a status symbol and for battle dress.
It was not just on the battle field that Greeks won battles, but also at the
Olympic games. The Greek man shown left is an Olympic victor.
In the centre is a priest of Dionysus, and to the right a King.
The vase shown in the image is a typically important reference source
for many of the Greek costume images we have access to today.
The man and women below are rustics who wear a simple peasant dress called
the chiton. This simple
tunic would also have acted as an under foundation for the leather and metal
armour of soldiers.
Helmets and shields, such as these shown in the (Braun and Schneider
Munchener Bilderbogen magazine) image above, were an important part of
the masculine Grecian style and were worn by soldiers during battle.
Metal and
leather was used to shield prominent areas of the body that were most
vulnerable to injury. Leg protection called greaves
added more skin coverage.
The
helmet which almost totally encased the face, could deflect a spear and the
movement of the plume tail decoration might distract the attacker visually
from a precision aim. The other reason for varieties of plume
decoration was so that soldiers could distinguish between friends and foes.
The metal battle dress itself was costly since it had to be crafted by
skilled metalworkers.
Leather greaves were worn on the legs and some of the decorative Greek
scrolling pattern is visible in the image above.
The patterns on the soldier's uniforms are typical Greek patterns and show
evidence of scroll work patterns such as these right. Note a similar pattern
on the armour bodice and how it is intermixed with trellis and geometric
designs.
Greek shields used for drama productions appear more realistic when they
create the illusion of weight. To achieve this gravitas, either add
metal weights the reverse side or better still add
heave metal decoration to the front.
Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
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