1. The Egyptian Melting Cone
If there's one thing about the Ancient Egyptian people, it was their absolute hatred of hair of any kind. Egyptians saw hair as dirty, so any hair on their body was shaved, whether it was a man or woman. It is because of this view of hair as unhygienic, and dirty that was the cause of the well-known Egyptian headdresses we know today. The Egyptians had many different and exciting headdress, from the Nenes (that white cloth headdress that is on every other citizen in a film set in Ancient Egypt), to the dyed blue wigs, and to the elaborate god headdresses of the priests. There is one headdress that stands out for being a little stranger than the fore mentioned. It is a cone headdress that has a rounded top and sits on a person's wig. As it was hot in Ancient Egypt this hat had a special task that it preformed. This cone hat was made with wax, perfume, and castor oil which was made to melt in the heat of the day. So as the person went through their day, their cone hat would melt releasing the perfume and keeping their head cool.
2. I don't need this arm in Ancient Rome
We all know of the toga from Ancient Rome, but did you know that there are several types of togas that all symbolized a different position in Roman society. The toga I will be talking about here is the toga praetexta a cream-colored toga with purple boarder which was worn by counselors and senators.
There is nothing overall interesting about this toga, but there is something interesting about what the senators added to their toga praetexta. They add a piece of long fabric which totally wrapped around one of their arms making them completely unable to use their arm. Why would they make it where they were totally unable to use their arm? That is because it showed that they were so well off that they didn't need to use the arm in their daily life.
3. Here's a curse word
Here we will skip the Dark Ages because nothing fun happened then, trust me. That brings us to the Late Gothic period of history, which was the period that looks strait out of a fairytale with the bright colors and princess cone hats. Now, here's where the curse word comes in. In the Early Gothic period there was a piece of clothing called the Houppelande, which was a floor length quilted tunic like piece that was pleated with ribbons and had long almost floor length bell sleeves.The houppelande lasted into the Late Gothic period but, like many things, it changed as the newer generations got ahold of it. The younger generation shortened it and the houppelande, that (of course) angered the older generation. The older citizens hated this form of the houppelande and promptly renamed it, the Bastard. This isn't surprising for the time period as their naming was spectacular, having also the Muton Sleeve and the Beaver Hat.
4. The interesting story of the Farthingale
Another piece of clothing from the Late Gothic era! This early form of the petticoat is not an overall interesting piece of clothing, it doesn't have a funny name or does a funny thing. It is simply the origins of the hooped skirts that were used for centuries after. The Farthingale was the first hooped skirt, sat under the bust line, and had the hoops sewn onto the outer side of the skirt. What make it interesting is the story around the creation, whether this is true, or a myth is debatable.The story goes that a Spanish Queen was married to a king who wasn't interested in her, leading to her taking a lover. A big no, no considering the time period. Well, she came up pregnant form the affair. The news reached the king, but it was only a rumor at the time, so he summoned her to count to find out the truth. The queen, knowing what could happen, came up with the high waisted farthingale to hide the pregnancy form the king. It, amazingly, worked and the queen began a new style of fashion.
5. The Renaissance and the Code Piece
When we think of the renaissance we think of this great blooming of human art and culture. This period of time is held as being one of the greatest in human history, expanding human knowledge and science. It is also the era of one of the stupidest piece of fashion ever conceived. It was called the code piece, and it is exactly what you think it is. It was a pocket in the front of the pants made to make men look more well and downed. Just look up the time of Henry VIII and you'll see how wide spread they were.
Humayun's Tomb (New Delhi) | Humayun's tomb is a complex of … | Flickr
