Ancient Egyptians are remembered not only for their rich history, but for their beautiful and ornate fashion. Egyptian style represents both practicality and indulgence, so to properly dress as an ancient Egyptian, one needs to combine a bit of simplicity, symbolism, history and amazing jewelry to make it work. Read on to learn all the key elements of an authentic outfit from ancient Egypt, including the proper clothing, headpieces, jewelry, and makeup.
Things You Should Know
- Wear a tunic or loincloth as your base outfit, along with a headdress and strappy tan sandals. You can also go barefoot, if you'd like.
- Wear lots of different jewelry, like charms, amulets, and a wide-collar necklace.
- Complete your look with bronzer, prominent eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, and eyebrow pencil.
Steps
Community Q&A
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QuestionMy teacher said they didn't have eyeshadow back then.Community AnswerThey didn't have commercially produced eyeshadow like we do now, but they did use natural sources like plants and minerals to create pigments to use as makeup. Green pigment made from malachite was widely used as eyeshadow.
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QuestionWhat if I don't have all this stuff?Community AnswerYou can make a lot of it yourself. The best place to start is in your own closet! See what you have that is white and gold. Thrift stores, dollar stores, and yard sales are good places to find jewelry. Look for anything gold in color, or large and triangular (pyramid shaped). You can also use poster board to make large cuff bracelets by painting or using crayons to draw designs. Glue on plastic "jewels" (if using crayons, the jewels won't stick very well to the crayon parts because of the wax). Make details with a black marker as seen in the illustrations. You can tape them closed once on your wrist. For the dress, you can use a large, oversized t-shirt with a belt at the waist.
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QuestionIs there and easy way to do this as a project for school? Any tips?Community AnswerTo do this as a school art project is a great idea! You'll need fabric scraps, poster board, plastic jewels, and lots of gold-colored items for the jewelry and head dresses. For the costumes themselves, an economic way would be to use oversized white t-shirts cinched at the waist with belts. They can even be worn over pants or skirts.
Video
Tips
- Accessorize with costume or real jewelry: gold earrings, rings and wrist cuffs and beaded necklaces only add to the beauty of Egyptian costumes.Thanks
- You can also use false eyelashes instead of mascara to add more depth to the eyes.Thanks
- Gold/silver or green self-adhesive jewels are a dazzling complement to the look. They can be placed near the outer corners of the eyes and on the hands and feet as well.Thanks
Warnings
- Invest in some waterproof eye makeup to prevent smudging.Thanks
Things You'll Need
- A white, knee-length tunic for men
- A white, ankle-length tunic for women
- Gold or bronze shimmery foundation
- Brown, deep red, nude or gold-tinted lipstick
- Black eyeliner
- Shimmery blue, turquoise, emerald green or gold eye shadow
- Black mascara
- Black or brown eyebrow pencil
*Clothes, shoes, and accessories listed above
References
- ↑ http://quatr.us/egypt/clothing/
- ↑ http://quatr.us/egypt/clothing/
- ↑ http://www.albanyinstitute.org/details/items/ancient-egyptian-tunic.html
- ↑ http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa-news-general-opinion/crowns-pharaohs-00579
- ↑ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425500034.html
- ↑ http://quatr.us/egypt/clothing/shoes.htm
- ↑ http://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-jewelry-9746.html
- ↑ http://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-jewelry-9746.html
- ↑ http://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-jewelry-9746.html
- ↑ http://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-jewelry-9746.html
- ↑ http://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-jewelry-9746.html
- ↑ http://www.tinytouchups.com/ancient-egyptian-eye-makeup-tutorial-10386/
- ↑ http://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/news/a14852/foundation-how-to-apply/
- ↑ http://www.tinytouchups.com/ancient-egyptian-eye-makeup-tutorial-10386/
- ↑ http://www.tinytouchups.com/ancient-egyptian-eye-makeup-tutorial-10386/
About This Article
To dress like an ancient Egyptian, you’ll need to combine simplicity, symbolism, history, and amazing jewelry. Solid white linen tunics were common garments for women and men. For men, have your tunic fall right below the knee, while women will want tunics that are ankle-length. If you’re a male and want to dress like a laborer, go for a linen loincloth or skirt instead. You’ll also want to don a headpiece made of fabric, gems, jewels, or gold, depending on what class status you want to represent. For footwear, try some leather sandals with flat soles or gladiator-style, t-strap, or goddess sandals. To accessorize your look, add earrings, wrist cuffs, bracelets, armbands, anklets, and rings. Opt for gold pieces and gems or stones, like turquoise, emeralds, obsidian, onyx, and rock crystal. If you can, find jewelry that’s carved with images of animals, gods, solar deities, or the popular ankh symbol. To learn how to apply Egyptian-style makeup, keep reading!
Reader Success Stories
- "Thanks for this guide. My 8-year-old son has to dress up in ancient Egyptian clothes next month. Last year, he dressed up as an ancient Roman. As both wore similar clothing, this article shows which details to pick out to represent the Egyptian style." ..." more