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Fran News 50th
Birthday Party!
Holy Sheet
What's a Toga?
From cousin Sarah New -
Greek togas are complicated!
THE DORIC AND THE IONIC COSTUME
During the periods under discussion, generally referred to as
Archaic and Classical, there were two basic styles of costume
for both men and women: Doric, in existence at the
beginning of the Archaic period, and Ionic which was
adopted later. |
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The most basic garment for women was the Doric peplos, worn
universally up to the beginning of the sixth century B.C.
Made from a rectangle of woven wool, it measured about six feet in
width and about eighteen inches more than the height of the wearer
from shoulder to ankle in length. The fabric was wrapped round the
wearer with the excess material folded over the top. It was then
pinned on both shoulders and the excess material allowed to fall
free, giving the impression of a short cape. The pins used for
fastening the shoulders of the peplos were originally open pins with
decorated heads, but they were later replaced by fibulae or
brooches.
Herodotus, explaining this development, tells us a rather macabre
story:
After a disastrous military campaign by the Athenian army, all
the forces were put to death except one man who managed to escape,
return to Athens and tell the women about their husbands' fate.
Devastated the women took the huge pins from their Doric peplos and
butchered the man in anger and contempt.
The men of Athens, Herodotus tells us, were so horrified that they
declared that Ionic dress should be worn in the future.
Whether the story is true is uncertain, but there was for sure a
period when open pins went out of favor.
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The
drawing on the left is showing the Doric chiton, the
basic garment worn by Greek women up to the
beginning of the sixth century B.C.
It was folded so that there was an overlap of
material on the bodice; the cloth was secured in
place (on the shoulders) by pins.
One way of draping the Doric peplos involved
covering the pouching formed by the belt with
another section of the woollen rectangle.
This maiden from the Acropolis dates from the 6th
century B.C.
The statue was originally brightly painted.
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The Ionic chiton which followed was similar to the
Doric peplos in overall construction. The woolen
fabric was replaced by thin linen or occasionally
silk, reflecting the increased influence of Asia
Minor on the country. Again the costume was made
from a single rectangle of material but much wider
than that used for the peplos, measuring up to ten
feet wide. It had no surplus material and was
measured exactly from shoulder to ankle. The
enormous width required that eight to ten fibulae
were needed to fasten the top edge, leaving an
openwork seam either side of the neck which ran
across the shoulders and down the arms to form
elbow-length sleeves.
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The garment on the left, the Ionic chiton, was
an alternative to the Doric chiton. The main difference lay in its
greater width.
The top edges of the material were fastened on the shoulder with clasps,
so giving the wearer greater opportumity for the display of jewellery.
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Forms of male dress throughout the Archaic and Classical periods
were very similar to women's. The two basic garments, the chiton
and the himation, were adopted by both sexes. The full-length
chiton was worn by all Greek men until the fifth century B.C.
when, except for the elderly, it was abandoned in favor of a
shorter version, which was knee-length. It was sometimes pinned
on the left shoulder only, leaving the right shoulder and arm
free. Soldiers worn a chiton on which both shoulders and arms of
the garment were sewn, leaving a wide slit for the head. It was
generally tied at the waist and a certain amount of material was
gathered above the belt to draw the hem-line to mid-thigh level.
The dish on the right illustrates the doric chiton as worn
by both a man and a woman
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It is a popular misconception that Greek costumes
were white.
This idea most probably arose because most Greek
statues are of marble, bronze, or some other
monochromatic material, and even the ones which were
originally polychromatic had lost their colors by
the time they were discovered.
During the Archaic period, clothes were generally
white or off-white, commoners were forbidden to wear
red chitons and himations in theaters or public
places, but by the fifth century costumes were
decorated with a wide range of colors.
Homer tells us of extravagant costumes woven with
threads of silver and gold.
Pottery, statues and the written word have given us
some knowledge of their decorative themes. One of
the most common designs for borders was the Greek
key pattern which has been used as a decorative
motif ever since. More complex borders depicted
themes ranging from animals, birds, and fish to
complex battle scenes. The colored threads for these
embroideries appear to have been limitless.
Herodotus mentions yellow, violet, indigo, red and
purple in a single garment.
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From Uncle Tom -
Togas are easy!
The International Toga
The Famous Person Toga
From Uncle Bill -
Shop Where I shop
From Uncle Bill -
Fitted sheets are never a good idea for a toga
party.
Every thing you need comes from one room!
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