Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Good day to you fine people, and welcome November!  I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween/Samhain, and that you are currently rocking Dia de los Muertos.  I was fortunate to spend my weekend of spookery in New Orleans, surrounded by a plethora of drunken costumed revellers and haunted history tours.  For a costume freak like me, it was divine just to people watch on Bourbon Street!  I'm thinking of putting together a New Orleans edition of Costume History for next week, so stay tuned.  But on to this week's location and time period:

ANCIENT EGYPT

Few cultures are as easy to recognize as ancient Egypt.  Its people and their customs have left a distinct legacy for historians of all disciplines.  From their baffling talents in architecture and extensive use of intricate hieroglyphics, to their eccentric burial practises and beliefs in polytheism, the ancient Egyptians have provided a treasure trove to spark our imaginations and inspire us to learn more.  That, and the way they dressed was pretty neato.
Located in northeast Africa within what is now modern day Egypt, the ancient Egyptian empire flourished for almost three thousand years.  This was primarily due to its position surrounding the Nile River, and its control over the Nile Delta at the mouth of the southeast Mediterranean Sea.  

Kids' Map of Ancient Egypt: Easier to read and more artistic!


Ancient Egypt is divided into three time periods:

The old kingdom, from around 2700 BC-2200 BC
The middle kingdom, from around 2100 BC- 1700 BC
The new kingdom, from around 1600 BC-1000 BC

Because of Egypt’s prosperity, its people were able to get not only very creative with their garments, but also extremely detailed and ornate with its embellishments.  This opulence extended from their clothing to jewelry, makeup, and hair pieces as well.  Under all this, though, existed the basic male and female garments which formed the base for all other clothing.  The schenti, a male garment, was in essence a loin cloth.  I suppose all that dry desert heat warranted something comfortable, minimal, and breezy.  

 Young men in painting wearing schentis

Sculpted figures wearing schentis

The kalasiris, a sewn form fitting tunic going from below the bust to the ankles, served as the basic female garment.  Slaves and members of the lower classes wore the simplest versions. 

Kalasiris

Kalasiris and Klaft

As one can expect, as social status and wealth increased, so did the additions to these base garments.  Men of a higher station wore a variation on the schenti, called a shendot.  This was a slightly longer skirt with the ends overlapping in the front.  A girdle, worn at the waist in the form of a belt, sash, or cord, was often used to adorn both the shendot and kalasiris.

Shendot with Girdle

Shendot with Girdle

The Egyptians undoubtedly relished in emphasizing their heads.  Wigs, made of human hair or wool, were worn by both sexes, and were usually dyed black, blue, or red.  Young men and boys wore a lock of youth, a large chunk of hair extending over the right side of the head and over the ear in a braid.  

Yul Brynner sporting a Lock of Youth as Ramses in The Ten Commandments: 
a great movie to watch if you like Egyptian costume, 
and is always on TV during Easter time!

Ancient depiction of a young boy wearing the Lock of Youth

Kings (and queens) would even wear an artificial beard called a postiche, which curved at the end in the same depiction as many Egyptian gods.  This was worn mainly during religious events or state occasions, and was attached using mud or some other adhesive.  Another distinctly royal fashion was faux sideburns made of leather, in which the shape indicated the wearer’s social class.  Sexy!

Postiche

Kohl, a dark powder used to darken the edges of the eyelids, was usually made of tibnite (a sulfide mineral) or soot.  Gray, green, and black were popular colors.  Once shaving all body hair became popular (oh la la!), kohl was also used to draw on eyebrows.

Kohl worn on an Egyptian figure

Okay, now it’s time to talk about the different kinds of crowns worn by royalty.  Yes, there are several.  I told you, Egyptians and their heads…

Pschent: a two part crown worn by pharaohs.  The bottom red portion represented lower Egypt, and the white top portion represented upper Egypt.

Diagram of the two part Pschent

The Pschent depicted in ancient Egyptian art

Uraeus: the super wicked poised hooded cobra head on the front of royal head wear; seen as a symbol of sovereignty and deity   

Uraeus seen on a replica of the famous King Tut tomb

A rendering of King Tut wearing the Uraeus

Klaft: a headdress representing a vulture, most famously worn in ancient Egyptian art by the goddess Mut, wife of Amun

Klaft worn by Cleopatra

Ancient sculpture of a queen wearing the Klaft

If you look at each picture, you'll notice multiple examples of the mentioned pieces being worn in by each figure.  For example, in one photo of the pschent, you will also see the women wearing klafts.  In the photo of the postiche, the figure is also wearing a uraeus, etc.  As I mentioned above, a great way to see ancient Egyptian costume is by watching films about the time period.  The Ten Commandments with Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston, as well as Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor feature beautiful and accurate costumes (for the most part).  Sometimes total accuracy is sacrificed for the sake of movie magic.
If you have questions about this week's post, comment or send me an email!  And come back next week to see some insight on the history in costume of New Orleans.  Oh, boy!





Monday, October 24, 2016

Mesopotamia

Welcome to the inaugural post of Costume History by Hip Frippery!  I’ve debated over the format I’ll be using as far as time periods go.  It only makes sense to start at the beginning, and work our way forward chronologically, but that could leave many of you desperately bored if your favorite time periods are more recent, i.e. from the 20th century.  We can also jump around a little, but it might leave some of you left-brainers a tad frustrated.  I’d love your feedback if you have an opinion on the matter.  As it is, my left brain has currently dominated.  Therefore, I will start all the way back in the prehistoric world, the “cradle of civilization,” as it were.  I present to you:

Mesopotamia

A word of Greek origin meaning “between two rivers,” Mesopotamia refers to a region located mostly in modern day Iraq.  Parts of the region also extended into modern day Iran, Turkey, and Syria.  The “two rivers” to which the name refers are the Tigris and Euphrates.  This is arguably the first civilization found on Earth, although evidence has been found indicating other areas as the first.


Mesopotamia’s first civilization, the Sumerians, ruled from around 3000 BC – 2000 BC.  In the earliest times, men and women used animal hides to cover and protect their bodies.  As new techniques were invented, including felting and weaving, they were able to create fabric, usually out of wool, which was wrapped around the waist and secured with thick belts.  These  skirts, as well as cloaks, were called kaunakes and were worn by both men and women.  Although soldiers’ kaunakes were mostly plain and unadorned, the rest of civilization wore tufted or fringed versions.  The length of the skirt arguably indicated the social status or wealth of the individual wearing it. 

 
Small statue of Eannatum, a Sumerian king, wearing kaunakes

 
Traditional male and female kaunakes

Over time, these formless and primarily utilitarian garments began to take more of a definite shape, and by around 2100 BC the surplice had evolved.  The surplice, also a fringed garment, had long, loose sleeves and an opening for the head.  Artwork recovered from this time period indicates that clothing was dyed in colors such as red, grey, gold, and white.
  
Examples of men wearing fringed surplices


These fashions continued into the Babylonian and Assyrian dynasties (around 2000 BC – 600 BC), becoming more elaborate and with more variation in styles.  Simple jewelry, including earrings and hair rings, became more common as well as caps made from leather or fur.

Persia
Oh, Persia.  Coming along and changing everything like you own the place.  I guess they did, actually.  In 600 BC, Cyrus II overran and conquered the other Mesopotamian civilizations.  With this new empire in place, clothing and its varying styles were influenced by Persia’s ruler and Mesopotamia’s new inhabitants.  And they brought pants.  Pants!  Other influences included makeup and body paint worn by both men and women, a wider variety of dyes in vibrant and bright colors, new hat styles, and a fabulous new fabric: silk.  

Examples of bright Persian colors

Persian king Darius and his attendants


I also thought you'd like to see some modern fashions that appear to have been inspired by this fashion era in history.  Oh, the hidden treasures you'll find when conducting a google image search:



Kaunakes


Surplice



And that is Mesopotamia.  I hope you liked it!  Next week, we will travel over to another ancient, but decidedly contrasting civilization: Egypt.  Have a great week, y’all!