Quotation from: Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period

Written by: Paul Lacroix


The ancient Greeks and Romans always went bareheaded in the towns; but in
the country, in order to protect themselves from the direct rays of the
sun, they wore hats much resembling our round hats, made of felt, plaited
rushes, or straw. Other European nations of the same period also went
bareheaded, or wore caps made of skins of animals, having no regularity of
style, and with the shape of which we are but little acquainted.


Shoes, and head-dresses of a definite style, belong to a much more modern
period, as also do the many varieties of female dress, which have been
known at all times and in all countries under the general name of _robes_.
The girdle was only used occasionally, and its adoption depended on
circumstances; the women used it in the same way as the men, for in those
days it was never attached to the dress. The great difference in modern
female costume consists in the fact of the girdle being part of the dress,
thus giving a long or short waist, according to the requirements of
fashion. In the same manner, a complete revolution took place in men's
dress according as loose or tight, long or short sleeves were introduced.

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