The stola was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga that was worn by men. It was also called vestis longa in Latin literary sources, pointing to its length.
A sari is a women's garment from the Indian subcontinent, that consists of an un-stitched stretch of woven fabric arranged over the body as a robe, with one end attached to the waist, while the other end rests over one shoulder as a stole (shawl), sometimes baring a part of the midriff. It may vary from 4.1 to 8.2 metres in length, and 60 to 120 centimetres in breadth, and is a form of ethnic wear in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. There are various names and styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style. The sari is worn with a fitted bodice also called a choli and a petticoat called ghagra, parkar, or ul-pavadai. It remains fashionable in the Indian subcontinent today.
A peplos is a body-length garment established as typical attire for women in ancient Greece by c. 500 BC, during the late Archaic and Classical period. It was a long, rectangular cloth with the top edge folded down about halfway, so that what was the top of the rectangle was now draped below the waist, and the bottom of the rectangle was at the ankle. One side of the peplos could be left open, or pinned or sewn together. In Latin and in a Roman context, it could be called a palla.
Clothing in India varies with the different ethnicities, geography, climate, and cultural traditions of the people of each region of India. Historically, clothing has evolved from simple garments like kaupina, langota, achkan, lungi, sari, to rituals and dance performances. In urban areas, western clothing is common and uniformly worn by people of all social levels. India also has a great diversity in terms of weaves, fibers, colors, and the material of clothing. Sometimes, color codes are followed in clothing based on the religion and ritual concerned. The clothing in India also encompasses a wide variety of Indian embroidery, prints, handwork, embellishments, and styles of wearing clothes. A wide mix of Indian traditional clothing and western styles can be seen in India.
A choli is a blouse or a bodice-like upper garment that is commonly cut short leaving the midriff bare, it is worn along with a sari in the Indian subcontinent. The choli is also part of the ghagra choli costume in the Indian subcontinent.
A himation was a type of clothing, a mantle or wrap worn by ancient Greek men and women from the Archaic period through the Hellenistic period. It was usually worn over a chiton and/or peplos, but was made of heavier drape and played the role of a cloak or shawl. When the himation was used alone, without a chiton, it served both as a chiton and as a cloak. The himation was markedly less voluminous than the Roman toga. Many vase paintings depict women wearing a himation as a veil covering their faces.
Mundum neriyatum is the traditional clothing of women in Kerala, a state in southwestern India. It is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the sari which covered only the lower part of the body. In the mundum neriyatum, the most basic traditional piece is the mundu or lower garment which is the ancient form of the sari denoted in Malayalam as tuṇi, while the nēriyatu forms the upper garment the mundu. The mundum neriyatum consists of two pieces of cloth, and could be worn in either the traditional style with the nēriyatu tucked inside the blouse, or in the modern style with the nēriyatu worn over the left shoulder.
An uttariya is a loose piece of upper body clothing with its origins in ancient India. It is a single piece of cloth that falls from the back of the neck to curl around both arms and could also drape the top half of the body. An uttariya is similar to a veil, a long scarf and shawl. The Vedas describe the garment to comprise various loose cloths worn for upper body such as upavasana, parayanahana and adhivasa, varhatika and varnaka, uttarsanghasamvyana.
Kāṣāya are the robes of fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns, named after a brown or saffron dye. In Sanskrit and Pali, these robes are also given the more general term cīvara, which references the robes without regard to color.
The palla was an elegant cloak or mantle that was wrapped around the body. It was worn outside the house by (affluent) Roman women. It was a luxurious version of the Roman women's pallium. The palla was a traditional ancient Roman mantle worn by women, fastened by brooches. The shape was rectangular instead of semi-circular, as with the traditional toga. The garment dates to the 3rd century BC, but the type of dress must be much older. In Latin literature, the term palla is used ambiguously. It can denote not only a cloak, but also a foot-length sleeveless dress with straps worn directly on the skin. The second is a common dress form in the entire Mediterranean world. In a Greek cultural context, this is called peplos. In a Roman cultural context, if worn by a Roman matron, it also takes the name stola.
The study of the history of clothing and textiles traces the development, use, and availability of clothing and textiles over human history. Clothing and textiles reflect the materials and technologies available in different civilizations at different times. The variety and distribution of clothing and textiles within a society reveal social customs and culture.
The preservation of fabric fibers and leathers allows for insights into the attire of ancient societies. The clothing used in the ancient world reflects the technologies that these peoples mastered. In many cultures, clothing indicated the social status of various members of society.
Clothing in ancient Greece refers to clothing starting from the Aegean bronze age to the Hellenistic period. Clothing in ancient Greece included a wide variety of styles but primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys. Ancient Greek civilians typically wore two pieces of clothing draped about the body: an undergarment and a cloak. The people of ancient Greece had many factors that determined what they wore and when they wore it.
In the context of clothing, a wrap can refer to a shawl or stole or other fabric wrapped about the upper body, or a simple skirt-type garment made by wrapping a piece of material round the lower body. Many people of all genders throughout the world wear wraps in everyday life, although in the West they are largely worn by women. They are sometimes sewn at the edges to form a tube which keeps the required size. A wrap may be secured by a corner being tucked beneath the wrapped material, by making a knot, or using ties, buttons or velcro.
The clothing of the people in biblical times was made from wool, linen, animal skins, and perhaps silk. Most events in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament take place in ancient Israel, and thus most biblical clothing is ancient Hebrew clothing. They wore underwear and cloth skirts.
History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization or earlier. Indians have mainly worn clothing made up of locally grown cotton. India was one of the first places where cotton was cultivated and used even as early as 2500 BCE during the Harappan era. The remnants of the ancient Indian clothing can be found in the figurines discovered from the sites near the Indus Valley civilisation, the rock-cut sculptures, the cave paintings, and human art forms found in temples and monuments. These scriptures view the figures of human wearing clothes which can be wrapped around the body. Taking the instances of the sari to that of turban and the dhoti, the traditional Indian wears were mostly tied around the body in various ways.
An antariya is a lower body garment from ancient India. It is a long white or coloured strip of cotton passed through the legs, tucked at the back and covering the legs loosely, then flowing into long pleats at front of the legs.
Stanapatta (Stanmasuka) was a loose wrap cloth for the upper body. It was a chest band used in ancient India. It was a simple upper garment of the females during the ancient time similar to the mamillare or strophium used by the Roman women. Stanapatta was a part of Poshaka. Kālidāsa mentions kurpasika, another form of breastband that is synonymized with uttarasanga and stanapatta by him. Innerwears for lower parts were called nivi or nivi bandha. The Skandamata sculpture of Malhar depicts the use of stanapatta and kanchuki in ancient times.
Poshak (पोशाक), also called Vāstra (वस्त्र) is the Hindi term used for the complete attire used in the vedic period. As mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century BC, the costumes belonging to the Vedic and post-Vedic period 1500 BCE to 350 BCE consisted of the antariya, which is the lower garment, the uttariya, which is a veil worn over the shoulder or the head, and the stanapatta, which is a chest band. The modernday Sari is one of the evolved poshak earlier known as Sattika that was single garment to wrap around the waist and cover the head.
A veshti, also known as vēṭṭi, is a white unstitched cloth wrap for the lower body in Tamil Nadu and in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Vēṭṭi is a part of the traditional attire consisting of Kurta and Angvastra. The garment is a single piece of cloth and similar to the dhoti, one of the earliest draped garments of India. A vēṭṭi is often layered with horizontal stripes or borders across its length.
