Ancient Clothes

   The Ancient Greeks were wearing something similar to the present-day basic camisole and called it a chiton. Chiton was a long rectangular-shape linen or wool shirt, fastened with fibula or brooch at shoulders and belt at the waist. For knitting the ancient camisole wool was originally used until lighter linen replaced it as the main fabric. In contrast to the synthetic nylon and spandex, wool and linen are natural materials with capabilities of water absorbency, warmness, and durability. The length of the ancient basic camisole was determined by people’s status and occupation in the society. For example, short chitons were worn by common people, soldiers, and teenagers, and long chitons were worn by women, elderly, and aristocrats. When weather got colder, an outer rectangular coat, himation, was worn over the chiton. White chitons were allowed only for rich people. Black, blue, dark-green, and grey chitons were primarily worn by common citizens and poor. Metallic color camisoles didn’t exist in the Ancient Greece, for instance. Late the camisole from silk appeared. However gold and silver jewelry were very popular in Greece that time. The Ancient Romans took much from Greek inventions, including an elegant chiton. Romans decorated it with ornaments, brooches, precious stones, and other accessories and started to call it a tunic. Roman legionnaires adopted a tunic as an undergarment. The tunic protected their bodies and clothes form sweat, dirt, cold or hot weather. In the eighteenth’s century Europe a basic camisole was shortened to the waist level to satisfy the growing demand for more comfortable and stylish underwear for corsets and dresses.