What clothes did people wear in ancient Greece?

The materials for ancient Greek clothing depended on what was available locally. 

For example, linen came from the flax plant, and wool came from sheep. These were the main fibres used to make the garments associated with Greek fashion. 

Linen felt cool and lightweight, so it was used in the hot Mediterranean summers.

In contrast, wool kept people warm in colder months and could be spun into thin or thick threads.

The process of making cloth required much work and skill. First, they harvested flax stalks and soaked them in water until the fibres separated from the stems.

Next, they pulled the fibres apart, twisted them into threads, and wove them into linen cloth on looms.

Wool went through similar steps. The workers cleaned and combed the wool to line up the fibres before spinning.

After weaving, they often washed wool cloth to make it thicker and softer.

Women in each household usually made the garments. They did not need to cut the cloth much; instead, they draped rectangular pieces over the body and fastened them.

This approach let wearers move easily while staying covered.

Ancient Greeks wore a few basic garments designed for comfort and appearance. The chiton was a simple tunic worn by both men and women. 

For example, men’s chitons reached the knees while women’s chitons reached the ankles.

To make a chiton, they folded a rectangle of cloth around the body, held it at the shoulders with pins or brooches, and tied a belt at the waist. 

In addition, the peplos was a garment only for women that resembled the chiton but was made from heavier cloth.

Women folded one edge of a peplos down before wrapping it around the body to create a flap called an apoptygma, and after tying it at the waist, the peplos looked like two layers.

They could adjust the apoptygma for style or comfort. Many peploi featured patterns or embroidery.

The himation was a large cloak worn over the chiton or by itself. People draped it over the left shoulder and wrapped it around the body to leave the right arm free for movement.

It was useful for warmth or modesty. Everyone wore it; however, its material and how it was draped showed social status. 

For an outer layer, Greek men often wore the chlamys, a shorter cloak pinned at the right shoulder.

Soldiers and young men chose it to move easily and to carry swords. It remained practical for travel and riding horses.

Because soldiers used it, the chlamys became a symbol of bravery and strength. 

In ancient Greece, attire clearly showed a person’s place in society, with the quality of fabric, detail in design, and use of dyes or decorations all indicating social status. 

For instance, wealthy Greeks could afford finer textiles such as soft, thin wool or imported linen that felt nicer and looked better, and they also used bright dyes that were costly and laborious to produce.

One example is the purple dye from the murex snail, which required about 10 000 to 12 000 snails to yield one gram of dye. 

By the Hellenistic period, silk from China became a prized possession for the upper class, whereas cotton stayed rare on the mainland until later, and both the length and decoration of garments signalled social standing. 

For example, longer chitons belonged to people who did not do manual work whereas shorter chitons suited workers who required ease of movement.

Likewise, a himation with many folds showed that the wearer did not perform hard labour, whereas a plain, undyed himation was common for ordinary citizens. 

Even city governments recognised attire as a status marker; in Athens, for example, laws sometimes limited the use of precious metals or certain colours in dress to prevent ostentation and keep luxury clothing for the wealthy. 

Ancient Greek footwear remained simple and practical but also showed status and purpose: sandals were the most common choice, featuring a flat sole held to the foot with leather straps.

While most people wore plain sandals for everyday use, the wealthy chose more decorated designs with metal ornaments or carved motifs. 

Boots appeared in colder weather, during travel, and in professions such as horse riding, covering more of the foot and ankle. 

The petasos was a wide-brimmed hat used to protect from the sun, often selected by travellers and hunters, and most sources say it consisted of felt or leather, although straw versions appeared later.

Jewellery was very important in Greek dress, as both men and women wore earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings crafted from gold, silver, bronze, and semi-precious stones.

Many pieces depicted gods, goddesses, or mythological scenes, which meant that wearing jewellery displayed religious devotion or hope for protection. 

In many city-states, a woman’s jewellery formed part of her personal property or inheritance, but in places like Sparta, women kept their jewellery even after marriage. 

Belts and girdles remained common for securing garments. They could be simple leather straps or decorated cloth pieces with metal accents, which gave shape to the body and allowed wearers to adjust how garments fit. 

Additionally, people used hairpins and brooches to secure clothes or hairstyles while adding ornamentation.

Patterns and colours gave ancient Greek garments a unique look and meaning, as designers often used simple geometric designs like checks, stripes, and meanders because they valued balance and repetition.

Weavers could also incorporate these motifs into cloth or artisans might add them later with embroidery along edges. 

Colour from dyemakers used plants, minerals, and sea creatures to obtain red from madder root, yellow from saffron, and blue from imported indigo. 

Bright colours frequently signalled wealth because producing them required substantial resources and labour, whereas white remained the natural colour of linen and wool, which people donned in summer to suggest purity and simplicity. 

Craftsmen added embroidery to garments, typically along borders or hems to depict mythological scenes, nature, or daily life.

Some officials even wore special embroidered vests for ceremonies. 

Artisans also employed pleats in cloth to add volume, allowing light and shadow to play on the fabric and making movement appear more dynamic.

In the early periods, such as the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations which flourished between 2000 to 1450 BCE, whereas the Mycenaean civilisation on mainland Greece lasted from about 1600 to 1100 BCE. 

In those early times, garments fit the body closely to emphasise the human form, which is evident from frescoes at Knossos and Pylos and painted pottery illustrating those styles. 

The Minoans favoured layered skirts and fitted bodices, but later, artisans simplified these into draped styles linked to classical Greek fashion. 

As Greek society transitioned into the Archaic and Classical periods, men and women adopted garments such as the chiton and himation, with the early Doric chiton consisting of a plain rectangle of wool fastened with pins at the shoulders.

By the fifth century BCE, the Ionic chiton appeared, crafted from light linen and held with small brooches along the upper arms to create a sleeve-like effect without actual sewn sleeves. 

The Hellenistic period brought further changes, influenced by the expansion of the Greek world and the cultural exchanges that came with Alexander the Great's conquests in the 4th century BCE.

Eastern styles reached Greece during the Hellenistic period; for instance, at court, they used thin, translucent textiles and fine weaves from regions like Persia and India, and silk from China became a marker of elite status, whereas cotton remained scarce on the mainland until later. 

Garments became more detailed, featuring layers, sewn hems, and pleats that enabled better draping.

In fifth-century Athens, some laws discouraged ostentatious attire, so citizens still dressed in varied styles but observed those restrictions. 

In Hellenistic times, wealthy individuals chose more richly decorated outfits that reflected connections to multiple cultures, and Greek attire influenced Roman dress; for example, the toga evolved from the Greek himation, and Roman cloth makers adopted weaving and dyeing methods from the Greeks, laying the groundwork for Western fashion.