Costuming and kinship

Societies that are dominated by the importance of kinship, costume becomes one way to express and display that membership.

Societies have long used costume to distinguish themselves from other tribes and the Ancient Egyptians are no exception. Each piece of the royal ensemble are clearly visible, (Patch, Diana Craig. “A “Lower Egyptian” Costume: Its Origin, Development, and Meaning.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (1995), 1290-1279 BCE, http://www.jstor.org.prox.miracosta.edu/stable/40000833?&seq=9#page_scan_tab_contents), the kilt, belt, tail that hangs down the center of the kilt, the beaded hip drape and apron complete with the dangling amulet, mostly likely a swallow or falcon. These costume items and accessories were also vastly different from neighboring civilizations such as the Mesopotamians. Mesopotamians, as is depicted in this relief of the Hero Taming a Lion, (Anonymous artist, Héros maîtrisant un lion, 722-705 BC, http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/hero-overpowering-lion) were more modest than the Egyptians and often contained layers. A typical costume, of course for aristocracy, would have consisted of a short tunic that had beading, embroidery and/or patterning of some kind with a long fringed shawl over the top with short sleeves. Mesopotamian royalty also sported beards which often were adorned with jewels and boasted crowns or tiaras as well.

Although the costume of the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans share some similarities they are distinctly different from one another. Ancient Greek costume consisted of some common garments such as the chiton and peplos, the himation and chlamys, cloak like garments, and the mantle often worn during cooler weather. Most of these garments were crafted of one solid piece of fabric that was interchangeable between sexes and was simply draped differently based on preference, occasion and style. On this terracotta vase (Anonymous artist, Attributed to the Nausicaä Painter, Classical, ca. 460–450 B.C., http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247308) two styles of these garments are visible. Rhea wears what appears to be a peplos, while Kronos dons a himation. The Romans also wore undergarments like the Greeks like the tunic, but men wore the toga while women the stola and palla as outer garments. Some costumes would have been dyed particularly for generals and other dignitaries but rather than the Greek costume, Roman dress usually involved layering, wrapping and draping the outer garment. This painting shows textile workers as well as the layered outer garment (Roman fresco from the fullonica (fuller’s shop) of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii,Workers putting up clothes for drying, 4^th century BCE – 80BCE, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_ancient_Rome).

The costumes during the Middle Ages are distinctive offering for variance, adding further separation of kinships. The layering of garments and modesty continues and is expounded upon during the Middle Ages. All classes wore the same type of garments however the differences between the amount of fabric utilized as well as embellishments become even more apparent than the previous century. Dyed fabrics, brocades and silks become very popular among the wealthy while the peasants donned garments constructed of plain or dyed wool. This rendering from an illuminated manuscript (Anonymous artist, Approx. 1350, http://www.themorgan.org/collection/Illuminating-Fashion), depicts men and women from, what appears to be, the same class. Both men and women are wearing the typical cotehardies of varying fashions. They are probably nobles as they could afford to layer multiple dyed garments. The woman pictured on the far left may be of a lower class, perhaps a house servant, considering she is minus the outer surcoat and only dons an undyed cotehardy. Religion permeated costume so greatly that religious scenes and symbols became highly norm in clothing as is evident in the Wilton Diptych (Anonymous artist, Richard II of England with his patron saints, 1395-1399, ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilton_Diptych) where class variation can be seen. Even kings were upheld to churches values and incorporating ecclesiastical symbols and imagery into fashion was a way to display that commitment along with wealth and status only royalty could afford such luxurious textiles and regalia.