Ancient Egyptian Clothes

In fact, most ancient Egyptians wore the same simple linen clothing throughout their entire lives.

Their clothes were almost always white, and usually in the form of tunics and kilts.

Linen was the most practical material for such a hot climate. It was also abundant since it came from the fiber of plants found all along the Nile River. Such a fabric was perfect for the weather since it was light and flexible. For the winter months, they would just put on a wrap on top to keep warm.

The women usually wore long tunic style dresses or skirts, while the men wore kilts. While working though, the men would usually wear simple loin cloths. Infants were left nude, while older children would be dressed like adults.

For those who could afford it, they wore jewelry and accessories. Some jewelry was made of gold, and some of stones and beads. One of my favorite sections of the Cairo museum is the one containing all the beautiful accessories - necklaces, rings, earrings, headdresses, and bracelets.

They had such beautiful designs; I don't know why we don't wear stuff like that anymore!

Most ancient Egyptian walked around barefoot, but they also had sandals to wear on occasions. Sandals were made of straw-like material or leather.

On the other hand, priests and royalty were a different affair. High priests usually adorned leopard-skin cloaks, while the embalmers would also add jackal-head mask to represent the God Anubis.

If you look at what the royals wore, you would see delicately embroidered tunics, beautiful gold and blue nemes headdresses for the king, extravagant jewelry for the queen, and the sandals were beaded and threaded with beautiful designs. Sometimes the king would also wear gloves.

Soldiers, for obvious reasons, also had their own set of extra accessories on top of the kilts. They had gloves, helmets, scales, etc...

And finally, we couldn't leave out the dead! Just as it was important for them to have food and other items with them for their journey into the afterlife, they also had to be dressed well to meet the Gods. Of course, since the bodies were wrapped (also in linen) they were given clothes to be buried with. But they did wear death masks, some of them made of gold!

Making and Cleaning Ancient Egyptian Clothes

Like cooking, making clothes was done by ancient Egyptian women. Weaving, spinning and sewing were usually done in the home by the women, and sometimes they would sell their finished products to others.

In the royal harems, the king's wives and consorts would take up embroidery and textile work to pass the time.

There were also garment-making shops which enlisted the help of women to make clothing to sell.

Remember, the ancient Egyptians didn't have a monetary system, they used bartering.

Now laundry was a totally different situation for sure! First off, it was a task for men only, and actually it was a profession. The laundrymen had one of the most dangerous jobs in ancient Egypt!

That might sound a bit strange, but it's true...

Each laundryman was given a certain area or certain houses where he would collect the load of washing from. He would then give a receipt for each item of clothing to the household.

After collecting the dirty laundry from the houses, he would then take them down to the Nile for washing... and that’s where the danger comes in!

The Nile back then was full of crocodiles and hippos. Even some pharaohs fell to their deaths in the grips of these wild creatures, so no one was immune!

And not only that, there were also parasites and worms and insects that brought the ancient Egyptians myriads of diseases - many of which would cause their deaths.

Anyway, so what they did was basically what many Egyptian villagers do today to clean their clothes. They would use these slabs of rocks to grind the material on, along with salts and lime (the same Natron salts used in washing bodies to prepare for mummification).

Once the clothes were clean enough, they were aired out to dry and then taken back to their owners.

Ancient Egyptian clothes were not the only part of the daily beauty routine, there was also make-up and hair. The ancient Egyptians really loved to look their best; they took great care in their appearance.



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