She who was rich in fine linen, who loved clothes, lies in the cast-off garment of yesterday." So begins an ancient Egyptian funeral lament. Although ancient Egyptians usually wore few clothes, clothing was important in their culture. A papyrus drawing from a collection of religious texts known as the Book of the Dead depicts Egyptians growing flax, a plant that yields fiber for linen. A three-dimensional wooden model of a weaving workshop that was found in an ancient Egyptian tomb shows workers spinning linen thread and weaving it into cloth. Archaeologists have also retrieved garments from tombs along the Nile River valley.
A dress from about 3000 BC, excavated in AD 1912, was rediscovered in 1977 among a bunch of dirty linen rags in a museum in London, England. It later went on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, also in London. Perhaps the world's oldest fully preserved garment, this dress consists of a skirt attached to a pleated bodice (fitted upper part) with a V-shaped neckline and long sleeves. Two other ancient Egyptian dresses survive from about 2400 BC. Surviving garments worn by Egyptian men include shirts, tunics, and loincloths. These garments suggest that ancient Egyptian art depicting Egyptian dress exaggerated the extent to which clothing revealed the body.
The ancient Egyptians did expose much of the body, however, and children, slaves, and entertainers often wore no clothes at all. The Egyptians fashioned most articles of clothing out of lightweight linen rectangles. Because the basic items of clothing were simple, the quality of the fabric and the use of accessories typically indicated the social status of the wearer. Finely pleated fabrics were highly valued.
The basic attire for ancient Egyptian workers was a simple loincloth. Men of the upper class wore a wrapped skirt that somewhat resembled a kilt over the loincloth. This skirt was called a shenti. By 2800 BC the shenti was knee length; by the 1700s BC some shentis fell to the ankle. By 1100 BC men wore a close-fitting shenti and a fuller long one. During the reign of King Tutankhamun (1333-1323 BC), the shenti had a triangular projection in front. Cloaks or capes were draped over the shoulder. For shoes, the Egyptians wore sandals of leather or rush (a stiff marsh plant) fastened with a thong and a strap across the instep.
Women wore a long sheath dress called a kalasiris, which extended to the ankles and was held in place by one or two straps over the shoulders. Later, some of these dresses had sleeves sewn in. The kalasiris followed the outline of the body, but it was probably not as form-fitting and sheer as represented in art. From about 1600 to about 1000 BC Egyptian women also wore a loose, sleeveless cloak, called a haik, over the kalasiris. The Egyptians favored white for most clothing, but by the 15th century BC they used colors, including yellow, red, blue, and green. Woven patterns and embroidery added borders and designs to clothing.
Both men and women wore jewelry and headgear in ancient Egypt. Gold jewelry, set with carnelian and turquoise, included necklaces, pectorals (pendants worn on the chest), amulets (charms against evil), earrings, bracelets, and wide, jeweled collars. Headgear was rich and varied. Women of elite classes often wore gold headbands that wrapped across the forehead and around the head. The crown was a royal symbol of authority, and several different types of crowns represented authority over different regions.
Many ancient Egyptian men and women shaved their heads and wore wigs. Women painted their lips and, using a reddish-orange dye prepared from the leaves of the henna plant, colored their fingernails. Men and women also painted their eyelids with kohl, a preparation made from soot or a substance called antimony. Kohl was similar to the eyeliner used by women today.