Ancient Greek Clothing

Greek clothing was primarily wool, very finely woven. Linen is also acceptable, partly for comfort since most modern people are not acclimated to wearing wool in hot weather, and partly because the modern textile industry does not produce wool that resembles the ancient fabric. Modern wools are fine for clothing meant for cooler weather. Use only 100% linen and wool, no blends, no cotton, and certainly no synthetics. Internal seams may be done by machine, but all exposed stitching should be done by hand. Optimally, there shouldn't *be* much in the way of hems to sew, since fabric was woven to the size needed for the garment, but again, with today's choices we are often forced to cut the fabric to size. For linen especially, this means hemming is probably needed. Good wools are tightly woven enough that a cut edge can often be left raw and unhemmed without raveling. Burlap, vinyl, and fake fur are forbidden. Modern trims should be avoided since these are generally synthetic or cotton at best, so unfortunately that means not using the "Greek key" trim commonly found at fabric stores. (These guidelines are basically the "minimum standard" for practically any era of reenacting/living history.)

On the "up" side, Greek clothing was basically just made from large rectangles, so no patterns are needed.

CHITON

       Since most public sites will frown on heroic nudity, clothing is recommended. The basic garment is a tunic called the chiton, or chitoniskos in its shorter version. It is simply two LARGE rectangles of wool or linen sewn together at the sides (top to bottom), or one piece folded at one side and sewn up the other, and connected at two or more points along the top edge to leave gaps for the head and arms.   The key word is LARGE. When unbelted, the chiton should reach from elbow to elbow and should hang below your knees, though the chitoniskos will hang only to the thighs. Tie the chiton at the waist with a simple cord, or a tie belt made from a folded and sewn strip of fabric, and blouse the extra length up over the belt. It should be voluminous and poofy! Many reenactors have very short, narrow, skimpy tunics, and these completely miss the whole appearance of Greek clothing. For starters, use a plain solid color (or white/offwhite) without decoration. Some chitons had a narrow stripe near the bottom edge, but decoration beyond that seems to have been rare.

   It is clear from vase paintings and other artwork that there were several variations, though many of the details are unclear and debated. Usually the armholes are at the TOP edge, not at the sides--the top corners will droop down under your arms very stylishly. The top is typically pinned at two or more points, and although some modern authorities maintain that no sewing was done at all, the sides do not appear to be open. Pleating is common, the fabric being pleated or gathered at the pins, and in some cases it appears that the front panel is pleated at the top but the back is not.   Sometimes the bottom edge of the chiton is straight, but sometimes it goes up and down in a zigzag which appears to be related to the pinning and pleating. There is much debate on how this was done! Several modern theories involve cutting the fabric to shape, but I am not convinced that any cutting was done.

       There are at least a couple vase paintings that clearly show a chiton which is *not* sewn up the side. It was simply pinned at the top and belted in the middle. Not all of us are that adventurous, but it is an option.

       A tie belt of wool tape is probably the best option, an inch wide or so. I don't think there is any evidence for patterned tie belts, but usually the belt is completely obscured by the chiton. A soft strip of leather would also work.

Hoplite Home Page	Clothing	Helmets	Photos	Other Greeks, and Others
Shield--Aspis/Hoplon	Armor	Weapons	Bibliography	The BRONZE AGE

Hoplite Home Page	Clothing	Helmets	Photos	Other Greeks, and Others
Shield--Aspis/Hoplon	Armor	Weapons	Bibliography	The BRONZE AGE

For felt, you need a form. I used layers of blue insulation foam, glued together, and shaped with a wood rasp. To find the diameter of the layers, I drew a full-size cross-section and drew lines across it, the same way an aspis is planned! I actually trimmed the sides a little after this last photo, to avoid quite as much "undercut". I also found that I should have added one more layer to the bottom, basically to accommodate extra length or whatever "slumped" down, which would be cut off at the end.
I started with raw fleece which had only been washed, in the green bag. I had to pick open the denser bits and remove as much debris as I could, making it much fluffier (white bag). I strongly recommend buying wool "rovings" produced for spinning (into thread or yarn), as the fibers will be combed out neatly into long loose ropes, and you simply pull off the pieces you need as you go. Also, Google up some felt-making videos! Extremely helpful. In this case, after layering up some fleece, spraying with soapy water as I went, the black nylon netting held it all in place for the felting process, an hour of rubbing in circles with water and soap. I didn't do enough at first, leading to the rather alarming result at far right, but another concentrated session led to the final result above.