Fashion in EB's time

[J.Alco]

So nowadays fashion is great an' all. We the people of today's world arguably have access to fabrics, materials, and dress styles from all over the world and thus can accomodate many tastes. It is easy to see how fashion has changed among the youth of the start of the 20th century and nowadays, (Just compare a picture of plainclothes uni students from the 20's to one of nowadays) while it is equally easy to see that certain elements remain consistent throughout (You'll notice that black suits, albeit in different variations, never truly seem to go out of style).

So here's a little topicer: How do you imagine the average joes of EB's timeframe dressed according to prevalent fashions of the time? Obviously the lower(st) classes would have probably dressed more or less interchangeably, with the more obvious differences being the absence or not of trousers.

So what are your thoughts on how people would have dressed if they wanted to be fashionable/formal? I imagine that in central and eastern Meditterannean nations Greek-inspired fashions would have probably been prevalent, while around the Iberian peninsula a more Phoenician or Lusitanian/Celtic fashions would have been found, depending on the area (Specifically where the Carthaginians had control or not).

And I personally imagine Carthaginian dress fashions would have probably been a bizarre but cool blend of Greek, Phoenician, and local African dresses. And as to hairdos? Well I remember reading somewhere that in the period around the first and second Persian wars long braided hair and beards were very fashionable, but by EB's period short hair and cleanshaven faces were in.

And what about the Celts? For me they raise a whole gamut of fascinating possibilities depending on their location and how much influence they had from, and on, neighbouring tribes and people.

And then there's Baktria...

Yes I'm aware that alot of people would have probably looked very similar, and that fashion changes were probably slower to occur than nowadays, but I'm also sure there was a wealth of variety and style available.

So what are all your thoughts on the matter? What luxuriant facial whiskers, bizzarre woman wigs, and general dress styles do you think would have probably been prevalent around EB's timeframe and due to what? Of course pics and the like are welcomed, and if comparisons are brought up even better!

And of course, the greater variety of different factions people bring up, the better!

[Hax]

I know that in Ancient Egypt, women used cherry as a lipstick, used chalk to make their cheeks appear whiter and ash to accentuate their eyebrows.

[antisocialmunky]

In some places, people carried around little metal penises for good luck. I guess that's not really a fashion statement... though.

Hmmm.

Well, one example of fashion actually depicted in EB are those Corintho-Etruscan helmets that Triarii wear. You know, the one with the face part of the Corinthian helmet on the forehead of the helmet.

[A Very Super Market]

Ah yes, those.... things. Truly a perfect example of fashion, for such an immensely pointless piece of equipment to exist.

[Andros Antonius]

Well, I heard togas were all the rage back then, especially at Roman frat parties.

But seriously, fashion might have varied more between cultures at the time than today because they were more isolated, but definitely changed less over time than in modern times. It wasn't even till like the 19th or 20th centuries that fashions began noticeably changing each decade or so, but you're right about certain clothings staying popular over the years, like suits for formal occasions.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Well, I heard togas were all the rage back then, especially at Roman frat parties.

But seriously, fashion might have varied more between cultures at the time than today because they were more isolated, but definitely changed less over time than in modern times. It wasn't even till like the 19th or 20th centuries that fashions began noticeably changing each decade or so, but you're right about certain clothings staying popular over the years, like suits for formal occasions.

That's not really true, on either side. Until the last century, most clothing you wore was dictated by formal rules relating to your job/social postion. Such clothing has changed very little, and tends to cycle. What HAS changed more often is the clothes we wear casually, though even then men has worn trousers consistantly for 150 years.

On the other side, classical and medieval fashion changed fairly often, beards, for example, were barbarian until Hadrian, Julius Caesar was (in)famous for his elaborate long-sleeved tunics, etc.

[Andros Antonius]

Yeah, I guess you have a point about the social class based fashion over the years. But I meant mostly casual and leisure clothing in recent times. Like we tend to even look at or define recent decades based on the clothing styles (e.g. the 70s style). Albeit, they probably didn't change that drastically, as trousers are still trousers.The beard went in and out of fashion too, like in the wig-wearing colonial times almost no one had it, and in the Victorian era it came back. Now it's not as popular but many people have it.

Anyway I didn't really know that about how fast fashion changed in Roman times. Interesting to know. From what I've seen, the beard was popular with Romans early in their Republic and it went away for a long time until Hadrian and later emperors like Marcus Aurelius. I guess people will always desire change after a while.