[See larger version]
The Greek female dress consisted of the pallium, a cloak-like garment very long and ample, worn plain, or bearing a fringed border, and under this was a chlamys, bearing close kinship in form to the Roman toga, and fastened to the shoulder by a brooch. The Grecian women cut their hair close to their heads, and the married were distinguished from the unmarried by a parting in front, but no Grecian woman ever went without a veil, covering the face. The head-dress and ribbons of matrons differed from those of the virgins, and there was a change in the shape of the tunic before and after marriage. Ribbons in the hair were preferred as decorations by the modest women, while the courtesans covered their heads with a mitre, and carried oval hand-mirrors, which distinguished them, as it were significantly, from their more virtuous sisters, who made use of fans of leaves or feathers.
The art of beauty, it seems, was studied with much interest. The use of cosmetics was greatly favoured. White lead was employed to whiten the skin, and vermilion to produce the rosy bloom of youth; and we have most of us been impressed by the fact that Nero's wife discovered a pomade for the preservation of her complexion—no doubt her urgent needs led to this heroic effort! Much time and attention were bestowed on the hair, and the use of false tresses was very general, slaves being employed to curl the hair, while experts supervised the process. The structures were adorned with pearls and other precious stones, crowns of gold and flowers, ribbons and fillets, while the embroidered net, known as the caul, also had a full share of patronage. The Roman women would paint their hair a gorgeous yellow.
A ROMAN HEAD.
Men and women alike wore the cothurnus, which reached to the knee, where it was fastened, purple being the favourite colour for this. It could not have been possible to obtain a great variety in a costume, and, save in the decoration of the tunic, which was ornamented with spots or scrolls, and in the arrangement of the girdle, of two varying widths, the one placed above the other so that the folds of the gown could pouch between, every one must have appeared very like his brother and his sister.
A GREEK HEAD.
One of the divergences in the fashion of the tunic worn by the women and that worn by the men was in the former always reaching to the feet and covering the arms.
The actual shape of the garments varied but little, and between the tunic and the stola there would have been some difficulty in seeing any difference, but the stola was worn over the tunic, and it came as low as the ankles, and was fastened round the body by a girdle, broad folds being above the breast: the essential distinction between the two in cut being that the stola always possessed an instita or flounce.
A ROMAN LADY.
It is a curious fact, and one worthy of note, that the dress of the boys was marked by a change after the age of seventeen. Then they laid aside the purple-bordered toga in favour of the toga purely white, white being, presumably, the insignia of liberty. Boys wore, too, about their necks a hollow ball or boss, the higher classes having this in gold, and the poorer citizens in leather. This boss was also adopted as an ornament for belts or girdles, but in the very ancient days the Roman men had no other clothing than the toga, and it was thought effeminate to appear abroad carelessly girdled.
The Romans in later days wore a chiton, a short woollen shirt without sleeves, and they also bestowed patronage upon long linen garments bearing sleeves, while above the toga they adopted a sort of coat, open in front and fastened with clasps and buckles, this sharing favour with the greatcoat or surtout, which bore a hood and was chiefly used for journeys or by the soldiers. The military robe proper of the Romans was a woollen garment called a sagum, and the men at first wore neither stockings nor breeches, but enwrapped their legs and thighs with pieces of cloth. Later they tried socks of goat's hair and shoes of unwrought leather.
The shoes of the senators flaunted a gold crest on the top, and black was the most general colour, though scarlet and red were also in use.
Gloves too were amongst the possibilities of this early moment, and it is set down that some of these were cut with fingers, and that others were of the pattern of a mitten.
In grief the Romans allowed their hair to grow, even as the Jews did, and the first growth of the beard in youth was consecrated to some god. The hair was treated altogether with much respect, valued and considered with care. Every lady of distinction possessed her own hair-dresser, curling irons were in demand, and a popular shape of head-dressing was copied from the helmet.
For the rest, let my illustrations speak. The coloured specimen represents the classic Greek garb under its simplest aspect, made in white home-spun bordered with yellow, and falling in folds somewhat disguiseful to the figure, and quite simple to achieve. The Roman lady having flattered the Grecian sleeve to the point of imitation, proudly bears her toga traced with purple and crowned with jewels. The two head-dresses are characteristic, and amongst things easy to understand.
Taking the so-called classic period altogether, it must be admitted that among the ancient Greeks and Romans were born the best principles of the art of dress—an appreciation of outline and a sense of grace in drapery.
CHAPTER II
IN EARLY MEDIÆVAL TIMES
From the days of the early Britons to the twelfth century is a long jump, but in many countries the growth of new fashions was so slow that to attempt to describe it would mean much wearying repetition and an unnecessary extension of these pages.
For example, the dress worn by the men and women of Italy during the twelfth century was very similar to the old Roman styles, while in Southern Italy the Norman dress found favour as well as the Byzantine. In Sicily Arab costume predominated, and in Northern Italy the German and the Norman fashions shared popularity. Italian women, who all aspired to express their exalted birth by their dress, wore in the house a tunic or stola drawn up under a belt to show the feet, fitting closely to the figure and bearing long or short sleeves, as fancy dictated, and over this a palla, developed into a rectangular piece of cloth, passed under the right armpit with the ends knotted on the left shoulder.
Until the close of the tenth century, costume in England bore more resemblance to that worn in ancient Rome than to any chosen by the Danes. Though the Normans were greatly influenced by the Saracenic and Byzantine fashions prevailing in Southern Europe, an English lady of the twelfth century could scarcely have been distinguished by her attire from a lady of the Lower Empire, or even a modern maid of Athens; and no doubt a contemporary wit of flippant habit would have excused her simplicity by declaring that the study of costume was Greek to her.
A DRESS LACED IN THE FRONT.
A DRESS LACED AT THE BACK.
The prevailing note in dress in the twelfth century was costliness. The king set the fashion of rich apparel, and his example was followed by both clergy and people, though the former exercised their didactic privileges by inveighing against the most popular eccentricities. The women's dress at this period showed a strong tendency to exaggerated length, and the veils and kerchiefs were so long that the fair wearers were forced to knot them to avoid treading on them, while the skirts lay in great folds on the ground. Much significance might be attached to that precious old MS. where the illuminator depicts the devil in a woman's