THE HISTORY OF ROMAN FASHION

Although Roman clothing has its origin in Greece, it has a distinct form of its own.  The Romans used wool, linen, silk and cotton in their fashionable clothing.  The use of wool and linen was very common.  Wool was produced in Southern Italy or imported because of the high demand for it in Rome.  The quality of material varied according to the social status of the wearer.

The finest Roman linen came from Egypt.  The texture of the linen was soft and its look was almost transparent.  Cotton was not known in Europe until the time of Alexander the Great during his military campaign in the east.  Silk first came from China and appeared in a mixture with linen.  Garments of pure silk were worn much later, but they were rare and expensive.

The toga was worn by free Roman citizens with the exception of foreigners and exiled offenders.  It is a large, blanket-like dress, draped over the body, leaving one arm free, similar to the Ghanaian style of dressing.  The vast blanket took the form of a semi-circle when spread out.  It spanned between two and half to three meters long and in some cases, it can be as long as five and a half meters long.  It is generally worn by wealthy citizens especially senators.

The Romans were status conscious and their clothing reflected this.  The outfits were comprised of tunics, trousers, and cloaks.  The toga was a distinctive national garment of the Roman male citizen or paterfamilia.  Wearing the toga was impractical because of its heavy weight.  It was worn mainly for political , business, sacrificial, formal visits to one’s patron(s), and or court appearances.

Romans felt fashion required wearing the correct clothing for the correct occasion.  Male clothing was defined as the attire of the head of the household.  The puerilia clothing mark an individual as a child and a legal minor.  The mullebria clothing outfits characterize a woman, familia outfits represented subordinates in a household, such as slaves.  The toga represents Roman civilians in contrast to Roman military men.

The tunic was their standard dress which Romans wore before stepping out.  It is full-body attire.  It is a basic garment for all Romans, regardless of gender or wealth.  In Rome, the wearing of the correct clothing was supposed to reflect good order in the society.

HISTORY OF MOROCCAN FASHION

The country of Morocco has a rich culture. It is located in North Africa, across the water from Spain. Morocco has a multi-ethnic society. The Berber, Arab, and Andalusian cultures all contributed to the creation of Moroccan culture. Moroccan fashion is a creation of this culture. Their clothing is generally made of fine fabrics, colored silks, and other exquisite materials all crafted artfully and knitted by hand.

Their most common dresses- the djellaba, is made of wool. It has a hood. The silma or burnous is similar to djellaba. The silma however does not normally have a hood. These two dresses are common in North Africa. The silma can be worn with the djellaba.

The Moroccan Kaftan finds its origin from Persian culture that was introduced to North Africa by Arabic conquerors. It is a long, colorless dress that has long sleeves. The front is embroidered up its mid-section. The Moroccan kaftan is the equivalent of the abaya of the middle East. The kaftan is meticulously produced to bring out the feminine curves of the female body. It is mostly worn during celebrations.

The classic Moroccan slippers are called the tarbour. The form of slipper is a half-shoe. It is covered to the ankle and is made of leather. The tarbouch is a head covering often worn in urban areas of Morocco. The razza is often worn by people who live in the rural areas of Morocco along with barbous and tarbours.

The djellaba and grandora are the two common outfits of the Moroccans. The gandora is a traditional Moroccan garment. It is heavily embroidered around the neck and sleeves, and sports a pocket on one side and a slit on the other. The djellaba has a hood but the gandora does not.

The female djellaba is highly decorated, but the male version is plain. Most of their garments are knitted by hand. Gold and silver embroidery are part of their attire, along with silk belts embroidered with silver. The kaftan in solid gold. The women wear high-heeled shoes and the men wear a Fez hat decorated in silver or gold tinsel.

The machzania is a unisex and common in Morocco. Islamic morality has significant influence on the nature of Moroccan clothing. The rural and regional women wear the same dress- similar to djellaba or the haik– a large fine cloth that is usually has a white color. Moroccans also wear the omis which is a long jacket that is often worn with trousers.

HISTORY OF THE ALGERIAN FASHION

The materials used in Algerian clothing are wool, linen, cotton, and satin. Some of these fabrics are imported from places like China, India, and Afghanistan. The river Nile’s delta region was the source of the cotton. Others, like the wool, are obtained from the sheep living in the surrounding mountains of Algeria. The military campaign of Alexander the Great into Algeria brought him such materials as spoils of war that became commercialized clothing materials. Trading activity began as a result of the discovery of such rich materials in Algeria.

The most popular dress of the Algerians is the Djellaba. Most are made of wool. It reaches down to the feet of the wearer. The light weight ones are slimmer and shorter. The light colored djellaba is worn with a red fez hat and soft yellow slippers. It is a traditional Berber outfit that is long, loose-fitting, and has a unisex outer robe with full sleeves.  It is commonly worn in that region of North Africa. It is also worn by different ethnic groups in the Atlas Mountain region of the desert, Djellaba colors indicate the marital status (single or married) of the wearer. A dark brown Djellaba indicates a bachelor or maiden.

Their hat which is called a fez is equivalent to the Egyptian tarboosh. it is a felt hat that comes in two shapes. One shape is in the form of a truncated cone made of a red fez. The other has a shorter, cylindrical shape. The modern fez owes its popularity to the Ottoman era.

With time, the military was reformed and the fez had a cloth wrapped around it. The wearing of turbans was banned, and this purportedly encouraged equality between the Muslim and non-muslim groups of the region.

The foutah towel is a piece of cotton or linen fabric used among some Algerian people. Both men and women wrap it around the body during public baths. Sometimes, it is worn by itself when Algerians relax at home. The abaya is a cloak. It is a loose-over, robe-like garment. It is worn by some women. Algerian women often wear long black gloves.

The Dashiki (pronounced Dan-shi-ki), is a male garment. It is colorful and covers three-quarters of the body (down to about the knees). The word dashiki means an undergarment in the Hausa language of West Africa. Most times it is sewn as a suit which includes a pair of trousers made of the same-material with a rope-like belt that ties the trousers at the waist. The dashiki is embroidered from the neck to the chest.

HISTORY OF TUNISIAN FASHION

HISTORY OF TUNISIAN FASHION

Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, dominates the country.  It was a satellite town of Carthage- a trading port of the ancient Phoenicians, and eventually a province of the later Roman Empire.  It is a coastal town, and a region that attracted many other town settlements now in Tunisia.

Tunisia is part of the larger Arab world. It is located between Algeria and Libya in North Central Africa. Tunisia is bordered to its north by the Mediterranean Sea, and by the Sahara desert in the south.

The people are conservative dressers. The women sometimes wear headscarves and dress stylishly in their latest fashions which reveal very little of the shape of the body. They, as a matter of moral and religious principles, do not wear shorts, mini-skirts, or low-cut sleeveless tops.

In the past century, different costumes and fashion themes distinguished different areas of Tunisia. One of the more ubiquitous of these themes was the “cut” of the tunic. The tunics are cut in fabrics of wool, cotton, and silk. The embroidery depicts the distinctive heritage of Tunisia.

Money, sequins, wire, and spangles are all used as ornaments on female Tunisian garments. The traditional male cap is decorated with embroidery that consists of silk, money, pearls. and gold. Tunisian shoes are also embroidered and often match the male caps, or complement them. Tunisian wedding and ceremonial costumes still remain very aesthetic and inspirational to the modern fashion world.

The male regional costumes have their own identity and ancestry as well. In the rural areas, the kaddroun, and the bdenare are what are commonly worn. The Andalusian/Turkish clothing, known as the jebba, is another traditional outfit. The male outfits are generally loose-fitting. They cover the male physique and are made of different fabrics and colors.

Tunisian jewelry originated from the fashion of the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Turkish and Andalusian (Spain) cultures. Over time, the manufacture of rural money became incorporated into Tunisian jewelry. Production of this jewelry multiplied. A growing taste for this jewelry developed, and its value rose. Of prominence are the Tunisian flat gold rings, called rhena, that are made of chains of gold, money, and or amber.

HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIAN FASHION

Both ancient and modern Egyptians are very fashionable people. The attire of the Egyptians is made up of many of the components of fashion. In an Egyptian outfit, especially ceremonial outfits, one can see many of the complements of high fashion. The Egyptian textiles of old and new times are made of linen of very high textural quality. The ancient Egyptians wore short, pleated, masonic-like skirts similar to the kilts of the Scotts.

The men of Egypt wore loincloths for their manual labor and the women wore skirts. The children were dressed in cloaks and wraps. The royal family members, especially the pharaohs, during ceremonies, would dress in attire that had within it decorations of sequins and feathers. The Egyptian women would place shawls over their long pleated dresses. The noblemen were distinguished by long robes placed over their masonic-like skirts.

Many Egyptians of ancient times walked barefoot except during special events. The pharaoh and other royal members wore sandals. The ordinary people wore their hair low and the young men shaved their heads. During certain seasons, they wore wigs made out of sheep’s wool as well as human hair as a decoration and for protection from heat. They decked themselves in anklets, bracelets, rings of expensive minerals, and they also wore amulets to ward off injuries and evil spirits.

The Egyptian smiths played an important part in the fashion of Egypt, then and now. Highly skilled smiths were like famous modern designers with their names and reputations making them prized by members of Egyptian high society. They designed jewelry from gold, silver, and copper, and colorful linen textiles were some of the choicest fabrics used to make Egyptian clothes. Some were made from the flax plants. They were dyed in various colors, especially white, to distinguish the wealthy patrons from, for example, regular patrons. Wool was classified as impure. Animal fibers on occasions were used as overcoats, however, they were forbidden in temples and other sanctuaries.

Hygiene was of the utmost importance in Egyptian life and this extended to their fashion and clothing. Their daily life styles, hygiene, and health practice reflected these facts. Ancient Egyptians bathed regularly (often more than once a day to account for the hot weather climate of Egypt), rubbed scented oils on themselves, and wore perfume and fragrance cones which they sometimes placed on the top of their heads.

The pharaohs wore leopard skins over their shoulders and would add the skins of lion tails that would hang from their waists on belts and sashes. During the middle kingdom, the men wore wraparound skirts known as shendyl which were belted at the waist. During certain times of the year, a light tunic with sleeves was worn by the males, and a pleated petticoat by the female Egyptians.

The women wore sheath dresses called kakesins. Their dresses were strapped up and worn down to the ankle. The upper part were worn above or below the breast. The women accompanied their dress with shawls.

Children from six years of age wore clothing that protected them from heat and also jewelry such as anklets, bracelets, collars, and hair accessories. Wigs made of human and horse hair were traditionally worn. The Egyptians produced numerous, expensive, and popular perfumes. Their footwear that was unisex and made of leather, though the royals sometimes had footwear made of precious metals like gold.