Egyptian clothing was made from locally-sourced materials—as were clothes from all ancient societies. Pastoral nomads created clothing from their livestock. AS one of the earliest agricultural societies, the ancient Egyptians wore light clothes made from linen. Linen is a light and cool fabric that worked well in the hot climate of Egypt. Linen is made from flax – a plant which was grown along the Nile.

Once harvested, the flax was soaked in water until soft. The softened flax was then separated into fibers which were beaten before being spun into thread which was then woven into cloth. It was a long and laborious process. The Picture shows this process in action.

Wealthy people wore very soft linen clothes made from thin fibers. Poor people and peasants wore rougher linen clothing made from thicker fibers.

Clothing during Ancient Egypt was fairly simple. The linen cloth was typically white and seldom dyed another color. Very little sewing was done to items as most clothing was wrapped around and then held on with a belt. Also, the styles were generally the same for both the rich and the poor alike.

Egyptian Clothing For Men

All men wore a wrap-round skirt that was tied at the waist with a belt. Sometimes the material was wrapped around the legs as well. The length of the skirt varied depending on the fashion of the time – in the time of the Old Kingdom they were short while in the Middle Kingdom they were calf length. During the New Kingdom period it was fashionable to wear a pleated garment.

Rich Egyptian men were able to afford the best quality linen which was very fine and almost see-through. Rich Egyptian men also wore as much jewellery as they could afford and decorated their clothes. They also wore headdresses for special occasions.

Footwear

The Ancient Egyptians went barefoot most of the time but wore sandals for special occasions or if their feet were likely to get hurt.

The sandals worn by the poor were made of woven papyrus, palm, or grasses. While those worn by the rich were made of leather. The picture shows the various styles of sandals worn.

Jewelry

Although the clothing of the Ancient Egyptians was simple and plain, they made up for it with elaborate jewelry. Both men and women wore lots of jewelry including heavy bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. One popular item of jewelry was the neck collar. Neck collars were made of bright beads or jewels and were worn on special occasions.

The Ancient Egyptians wore jewelry to show their wealth and also because they believed it made them more attractive to the Gods.

Only the very rich could afford jewelry made of gold and precious stones. Ordinary people made jewelry from colored pottery beads.

Make up

Makeup was an important part of Egyptian fashion. Both men and women wore makeup. They used a heavy black eye paint called "kohl" to decorate their eyes and covered their skin with creams and oils. The makeup did more than make them look good. It helped to protect their eyes and skin from the hot Egyptian sun.

Egyptian men and women wore make up.

They used black kohl eyeliner to line their eyes and darken their eye lashes and eye brows. They colored their eye lids with blue or green eye shadow made from powdered minerals.

Henna dye was used to color their lips and nails.

Hair and Wigs

Hairstyles were important and changed over time. Up until the Middle Kingdom time period, women usually wore their hair short. During and after the Middle Kingdom, they began to wear their hair longer. Men generally cut their hair short or even shaved their heads.

Wealthy people, both men and women, often wore wigs. The more elaborate and jeweled the wig, the wealthier the person was.

Interesting Clothing Facts:

• High ranking priests and the Pharaoh sometimes wore leopard skin cloaks over their shoulders. The Egyptians considered the leopard to be a sacred animal.
• Ancient Egyptian priests shaved their heads.
• The Pharaohs kept their faces clean shaven, but then wore fake beards for religious purposes. Even the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut wore a fake beard while she ruled.