The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1879-11-27
Classic Costumes-What Was Worn
by Grccl an and Rom an Bellies

fCubcu we must look I'd the 6r6ekS, the
pioneers of civilization in the ancient
world. The principal garments, the
''chitou" and the ''himation, +" had been
IN use under one shspe or another from
prehistoric times, but their gradual de-
velopment into parts Of an ornamental
costume Is due to the taste of the Hell
lenic race, and, however altered in cut
and material, they sill form to the
present day the essential items of wo-
mans dress. Original y tke "chiton"
consisted of an oblong piece of wooden
or linen folded lengthwise, with hole
for the left arm, and the open side
fastened on the right shoulder with
button or pin. A girdle or belt ad-
justed the ample fold, of this simple
garment to the figure, and allowed the
arrangement Of any surplus length as
fall over. At later period two OBJ
long pieces of cloth or linen we've In
troduced to sorm the Chiffon. Fasten-
ed together on both shoulders and on
the sides with openings for the arms,
this arrangement might be compared
with two long pinafores, worn in front
and back. The next step in the de-
velopment Of the chiffon was to double
it from the neck, and thus form a sec
ond drapery, either short and girded or
hanging loose to the knees, and even
to the ankles on occasions Of ceremony.
This arrangement was called ''dlploI-
don," but soon became a separate item
OF attire under the name of ''chitonion,"
sleeveless jacket, on which the most
elaborate ornamertation of embroidery
and braiding was lavished. The Chi
nation" or mantle, worn by men and
women, consisted of large tquare of
the finest Mllesian cloth, embroidered
at the border and corners, and artisti-
cally dIaped over one shoulder, the
arms, the hips, and sometimes over the
head. No girdle was used with the
himation, and the great art was to ar
range the shswl-like mantle in graceful
folds over the chiffon and chitonion.
The chlamys was another kind of man.
tie, adopted from the Macedonians-an
oblong or circular wrapper of coarse
material, principally worn by men on
journeys. In very early times wool
and linen formed the exclusive dress
materials worn by the Creeks, and
white was their favorite color. Samos
and Miletus were famous for the manu-
facture of woolen stuffs, and the islands
of Kos and Amorgos produced the fin
est gauze-like serlcum or silk but even
Homer knew already of the richly bro
caded textiles from Persia and of the
garments dyed with Pi n lician purple.
At later period cotton was intoduced
for the garments of the lower classes.
OF under garments worn, if any, there
is no record, but sandals and shoes held
a prominent place among the ornamen-
tai dress items of q Greek lady. The
bands which fastened the sole to th,,
foot are described by Homer as ''shin-
ing and golden" and the balf-boots
from Lydia and Tyrrhene were of
brightly colored leather, studded with
gold ornaments and embroidered with
pearls. Graceful as the appearance Of
a Greek lady must have been, arrayed
IN a richly ornamented diploidon or
himation, the shape of her head dress
and the manner in which her hair was
arranged would scarcely have found
favor with modern critics. A fringe
of curls, to make the forehead appear
as low as possible, and the remainder
of the HAIR brushed back to form a sort
of apex with topknot, lie decidedly
unbecoming to most faces, and curious
bandages, nets and caps, which kept
the arrangement in its place, cannot be
considered as an improvement. Only
when diadem or veil was worn, the
modern idea of classical head is fully
realized. The costume of the Romans
was an adaptation of the Greek attire.
the .tunica interior" OF sSS.oII" or .poIIa"
the himation. The under tunic was
originally long chemise sewed on the
sides, with sleeyes reaching, in early
times, scarcely to the elbow but later,
under the rules of the emperors, de-
scending to the wrist and terminating in
frInges or borders. When the Greeks
invented the diploidon the Roman wo-
men at once adopted the new fashion
as an over tunic and called it stola. 1t
was shaped on the same principle as
the tunica interior, but much Longer
and of ample width, beside being elab-
orately embroidered on the borders as
we'll as in front and round the neck,
and the train sometimes weighted with
gold ornaments. The tunica Interior
used to be worn in the house without a
belt, but no lady appeared in public
without having he stole cinctured round
the waist and drawn up In front, to
show her pretty shoes or sandals, while
her founced and pleated train
swept the ground. The belt semi :
IONA } was made of various materials
more or less costly, according to the
rank Of the weerer, and of elaborate
workmanship, with pearls and stones,
when worn with the short stole. The
Roman mantle, or toga, consisted of q
piece of wooden cloth, sufficiently am
pie to envelop the whole figure when
necessary, and allow q portion to be
pulled over the head for protection
from the weather. How to drape the
toga or palla-as the Corresponding
mantle worn by women was called-in
graceful folds over the stola, 80 as to
shew the embroidered parts OF the tu-
mics and the figure to the best advan-
tage, was matter OF study and anxious
concern with Roman ladies. Their
great wish was to appear original in
this respect and to set the fashion. To
describe the various methods Of arrang-
ing the palla on the figure would be
impossible. The favorite color for the
toga and palla was creamy white, the
natural hue of wool, and remained the
fashion with the higher classes for q
long time. Only the lower classes wore
mantles Of different colors, while togas
dyed, striped and edged with purple
were reserved for occasions of state and
to mark the rank OF officials. OF
course ladies could not be long restrain
ed within such narrow limits OF orna-
mentation, and had their pallas made
of various materials, including the
rough Tuscan frieze, as we'll as the
translucent gauze from Asia, in gaudy
colors, and richly embroidered. The
veiiSricinium), made Of the finest mus
lin or silk gauze, was another integral
part for Roman lady's outdoor dress.
Fixed to the diadem Il descended over
the shoulders, and its graceful arrange
ment was well uDderstood by the bellies
of the period. The Roman fashions OF
arranging the hair differed from those
customary in Greece, and were OF inf
mite variety. Curls and plaits OF nat
ural and artificial hair had to be COM
bined in various ways, and some Of these
arrangements were far from becoming.
In imperial times the empresses set the
fashion for the coiffures, and many Gu
rieus examples Of dressing the hair
have been preserved on ancient coins.
With regard TO the chsussure af Roman
ladies', We may remark that, like their