Clothing is an integral attribute of our life, simultaneously performing a protective and decorative function. For the cold season there are sheepskin coats, jackets, coats and fur coats, and for the warm season there are T-shirts, T-shirts and shirts. The latter today are made from a variety of materials, ranging from natural linen, wool and silk, and ending with multi-component synthetics. What materials were used to make clothes in different periods of history, and when did people first start wearing them?
History of clothing
Archaeological excavations indicate that ancient people wore primitive clothing made from animal skins as early as 500,000 years ago. The most ancient sewing needles that have survived to this day were found in South Africa (Sibudu Cave), and in Siberia (Denisova Cave). The age of the first is 60 thousand years, and the second - 50 thousand years. As for flax fibers, the first "plant" material that replaced animal skins, it began to be widely used about 36 thousand years ago.
By 5500 BC, linen was the most common material for tailoring in ancient Egypt. In addition to it, papyrus, palm and reed fibers were also used. The traditional attire for ancient Egyptian men was a skhenti loincloth, and for women - a dress with kalaziris straps. One of these dresses, sewn more than 5100-5600 years ago, has survived to this day, and was found during excavations in the Egyptian Tarkhan in 1913.
The ancient Greeks, in addition to linen, also widely used wool, making peplos, chitons and himations from it. The first were two-meter pieces of fabric that were wrapped around the body, and the second were small woven pieces that served as an undershirt. Himatia can be compared to modern raincoats, and they could not only be worn, but also used as a warm blanket.
First, the Etruscans, and then the Romans, introduced togas - long pieces of fabric in the shape of a semicircle. The length of such a cut could reach 7 meters, and in order to dress it, aristocrats had to resort to the help of servants. According to ancient Roman laws, generals had to wear red and gold togas, and officials wore white. Women of different classes could choose the shades of the tog at their discretion.
Middle Ages and Modern Times
Cloaks and tunics, borrowed from the ancient Romans, remained popular in Europe until the High Middle Ages (11th century AD). Pants were also added to them, initially consisting of two separate parts: the right and left legs, which were fixed on tunics. Because of the constant wars, the daily wardrobe of Europeans also included helmets and chain mail, often decorated with inlays and embossing. The Germans, Burgundians and Goths were especially successful in this skill.
The everyday attire of a commoner during the early Middle Ages remained practically unchanged. These were short tunics and trousers for men, and long tunics with outerwear for women. Serious changes began only in the XIII century, when linen clothes began to be dyed in different colors, and new patterns of clothes were sewn from it. Small sleeves "lanterns" were gradually replaced by very long sleeves covering the hands, and the neckline was replaced with a light corset. By the 17th century, collars began to be decorated with special inserts - cherusks, and in England they invented a short spencer jacket that did not go out of fashion for a long time.
The First World War, the Great Depression in the United States, and then the Second World War greatly influenced the clothing of the early-mid 20th century, making it extremely simple and practical. The men's (and often women's) wardrobe included skinny trousers, a coarse-cut jacket and shoes with wooden soles. Heads were decorated with hats and caps, and skirts were lengthened with hemmed ribbons and frills.
After forced minimalism, an era of wasteful luxury followed. Already in the late 1940s, Christian Dior, a new trendsetter, made himself known, and such elements of clothing as cryolins, fitted bodices and corsets tightening the waist entered the everyday wardrobe of many Europeans and Americans. And the recently ended World War II brought into fashion a short coat with clip-on hoods - the former clothes of the military.
Summing up, we can say that clothing at all times was considered a status attribute, and differed greatly among different castes and classes: both in color and design, and in materials of manufacture. Today, you can buy an ordinary casual shirt or trousers at the most affordable price, but when it comes to an expensive suit or evening dress, only wealthy people can afford it. And the most status items are not available for free sale, and are made only to order for the highest elites, which only confirms the established centuries-old tradition.
