Egyptian cultural dress

Egyptian cultural dress is the clothes, shoes, jewelry, and other items of fashion common to the Egyptian people and recognizable as particularly representative of Egyptian culture.

Egyptian woman baking bread

Farmers at work. Both men are wearing libas, or short sirwal. The man on the right is wearing a tarboosh, and the man on the left is wearing a sedria.

Pre-Ptolemaic

Various Ancient Egyptian clothes and jewelry including an undecorated tunic (1), a decorated sheath dress (5), a shendyt (2), a cape & skirt ensemble (13), one of the draping styles for the sari-like garment (3)

Ancient Egyptian dress can broadly be divided into types of tunics, robes, skirts, and shawls, typically made of linen. These were sometimes decorated with print, woven, and embroided patterns, though such decoration was more common on accessories. Sewn garments began to appear in the Middle Kingdom. Children typically went unclothed.

Ancient Egyptian men often wore a wrapped skirt or kilt called a shendyt or schenti, which came in various styles. Loincloth of linen were also common, and a style of loincloth made of leather with slits cut into it to make the material readily expand was also used.

Ancient Egyptian women often wore a type of sheath dress, which was idealized as quite tight in art. This dress varied in design from a tube of fabric that ended before the bust and was held up by straps, to a more modest T shaped tunic style. Women also sometimes wore a skirt and cape, particularly in combination with each other. The length of one's skirt or cape was often an indication of status, as was the use of more fabric in garment production more generally. Another form of dress was a long piece of fabric wrapped around the body to form a dress-like garment, similar to the wrapping of a sari or melaya leff.

Both genders sometimes wore a loose caftan which would be draped in different ways with the aid of a woven belt or knots. Men sometimes wore this caftan loose and unbelted instead. A surviving example of a belt that could be used in such a way is the Ramses Girdle, which has an intricate pattern that would likely have taken four months to weave.

Garments worn by both genders tended to have a higher waistline defined for women, while men defined the waistline around the hips.

Matched jewelry set including a girdle, anklets, and bracelets

A man's wig

Both genders wore makeup and jewelry. Jewelry was extensive amd varied, including necklaces (such as pectorals, menat, broad collars), bracelets, anklets, and rings (especially seal rings). Girdles were one of the oldest forms of known jewelry in Egypt. Earrings were not common in Egypt until the New Kingdom, and were likely introduced from Nubia. Elaborate aprons made of beads or possibly decorated leather were typically worn by men of a high status, such as pharaohs. Materials for jewelry included gold, silver, turquoise, jasper, garnet, amazonite, agate, amethyst, feldspar, carnelian, obsidian, lapis, amd faience. Glass started to be used in the New Kingdom. The color of a material may have often had a deeper, amuletic significance.

Sandals were worn by all classes of society, with the difference among classes being how the shoe was made and what materials were used. Open shoes were possibly introduced by the Hyksos, and closed leather shoes began to appear in the New Kingdom.

Many Ancient Egyptians wore wigs, hair extensions, or dyed their hair with henna. Men's wigs, especially of higher classes, tended to be more elaborate. Priests shaved their heads entirely.

Post-Ptolemaic and Late Antiquity

Later women's cape's and skirts, with more modesty due to Greek and Roman influences

Statue of a Ptolemaic era official wearing a tunic, shendyt, and a mantle.

Fashions began a marked change with increased Hellenic influence. The Greeks introduced woolen clothes into Egypt, which gradually became more popular than linen. Cotton fabrics also appeared in the 2nd century CE, likely due to trade with Meroe.

The Roman's introduced their style of tunics with clavi and roundel decorations to Egypt, and not long after, sleeved tunics became generally popular. These decorations were made with tapestry weave (also known as kabaty). This style of decoration remained popular in Egypt, and eventually influenced Chinese weavers. Greek himations and Roman togas were also introduced. In the Coptic period, these styles remained popular.

Coptic textile showing men in tunics and mantles

Garments were overall similar in structure, with gender differences coming from style. Women preferred longer tunics and closed shoes, while men wore shorter tunics and sandals, or did not wear shoes at all. Women were also more likely to wear clothes with a dyed base fabric, and typically covered their hair with their mantle, or sprang caps.

Various items of Ptolemaic jewelry.

Medieval

Medieval Egyptian dress included a variety of turbans, coats, caftans, and tunics. The Fatimid period was particularly lavish in dress, with loose garments of high quality, highly decorated fabric. Silk became particularly popular and refined in the Mamluk period, and often incorporated art motifs from further east.

Earlier on, a common man might only wear tubban (briefs), sirwal, or sirwal and a short mantle. Worker's tunics, when worn, were typically knee length. Wool was common among the working class and even preferred. By the Mamluk period, nearly everyone wore trousers (sirwal) and a robe overtop, either a thob or a qamis. Sirwal could be full or knee length, with the latter being associated with the lower class. Long and ample sleeves were associated with higher status under the Mamluks, and could sometimes hide the hands entirely. Some were double the length of the arm. Dhimmis at this time were restricted to narrow sleeves.

Women wore, in addition to these basic items, mantles, face veils, and scarves over their hair which were kept in place with fillets called 'isaba. Evidence from the Cairo Geniza indicates Jewish and Muslim women dressed similarly, and that ghiyar wasn't particularly enforced, with the exception of al-Hakim and restrictions on color that later became the norm under the Mamluks. The Geniza indicates stripes were fairly common, as were checked patterns, but spots were uncommon. Gold embroidery and gilding were also popular, with the latter being less expensive. Fine garments were sometimes jeweled.

Ghiyar was a set of sumptuary laws meant to distinguish dhimmis from Muslims, which had slightly different statutes depending on time, and varied in how strictly it was enforced.

The Fatimid court provided an entire wardrobe to every official and their retainers, "from the turban to the underwear". Most of these were white with silver and gold embroidery. Ranks were distinguished by the specifics of each costume.

The popular undershirt up until the Mamluks was the ghilala, which was eventually replaced by the qamjun.

One popular garment was the qaba, which came in two main varieties; the Turkish style (al-aqbiya al-turkiyya), and the Tatar (or Mongolian) style (al-aqbiya al-tatariyya or qabā' tatarī). The latter fastened on the wearer's right side, and was preferred by Mamluk amirs in its day over the former style, which was favored by the Seljuks and Ayyubids. Both varieties had a waist seam and sometimes had a pleated or gathered skirt, and fastened with buttons or strings. It was typically knee or calf length. The Qaba likely belongs to a garment family which stems from the Mongolian terlig and includes the jama and tieli. It is also possibly of Turkic origin. Open coats also existed and were layered over other coats and robes.

The jukaniyya was a sleeved women's garment made of linen, brocade, or silk. It may have been named after the Persian town of Juwakan, or it may have been named after a game of polo, indicating the garment resemblee a polo jacket, a short coat with narrow sleeves.

The makhtuna was a women's garment that may have occasionally been worn by men. It was made of costly fabrics such as brocades, siglaton, and silks.

The badlan was a short sleeveless unisex tunic from the Arabian peninsula that was popular with Egyptian women.

The aba was a sleeveless square coat the was sewn up the sides and opened in the front, typically worn by men.

Robes of honor (khila') and garments with tiraz bands were given as signs of royal favor, but common people such as merchants would give these out as well to friends and to their betrotheds.

The futa was a sari-like long cloth imported from India and chiefly worn by women. It was used for many purposes, including as a loincloth, apron, and headwear.

The tikka was a drawstring for sirwal. It was sometimes made of nicer fabric such as silk, embroidered, jeweled, and/or perfumed. Some women gave it to their lovers as a token of affection.

The mintaqa was a sword belt, often worn with a qaba and sirwal by soldiers. It was sometimes decorated with metal. Under the Abbasid Caliphate it was prohibited from being worn by dhimmis. The hiyasa was a belt of petal plaquettes that descended from it, and initially was a military belt. It was usually made of silver, but sometimes it was also made of gold or jade. The finest ones were also set with gems. A scarf was often tucked into it and left hanging. Other jeweled metal belts were akso popular.

Caps and turbans were worn by most men, as it was improper to be in public without one. These came in a variety of forms, and could be the most expensive items a man wore. Different hats and turbans were chosen for fashion reasons, but sometimes also had special significance. The Fatimid Caliph had a special turban (al taj al sharif) made of a cap with a mandil wound around it in the shape of a myrobalan. It was decorated all over with jewels, and a solitaire mounted on a silk fillet would be tied to sit in the center of the forehead. The Ayyubids and Mamluks adopted hats from further east as well.

The qalansuwa was usually a tall cap (described miter like, shaped like a sugar loaf, or shaped like an inverted amphora (dann) and subsequently also called a danniyya) made from a reed or wood frame that was covered in fabric. Until the 11th century, a tall one was used as uniform of judges. Variations existed, such as the short and round variants, which were usually made of fur (especially fox) or fabric, and had a winding cloth for a turban. Originally the hat was short, and sometimes qalansuwa referred to a hood.

The tartura or tartur was a tall cap, and was first mentioned in a 7th-century papyrus. It may have come from an Aramaic speaking region.

The normal military hat under the Ayyubids and Mamluks was called a sharbush. It was a stiff hat trimmed with fur that had a triangular front. Sometimes it was wound with a small kerchief to make a turban called a takhfifa.

By the Mamluk period, knee high boots were popular with men, especially higher class men. Taller boots were cut so they still emded below the knee in the back. These boots were often red, brown, or black, and had blazon decorations. Nobles often wore decorative spurs on their boots. Some soldiers and officals wore cloth leggings that only covered the calf instead. These were called ran and originally came from Persua or Central Asia.

Fatimid jewelry was typically made of gold with filigree and granulation techniques. Enamel and niello were also popular techniques. Animals, palmettes, flowers, scrolls, crescents, and geometric patterns were popular in design, and were usually symmetrical.

Fatimid Jewelry

Modern

Typical middle and upper class Egyptian men's dress in the 19th century.

Lower-class men of the 19th century.

A 19th century Egyptian woman without her outer layers.

In the 17th century, the rural men's robe was made of coarse wool with wide sleeves and closed in the front. The urban man's, however, was made of fine wool, and was tight in the upper arm, but wide at the end.

The drawers of an Egyptian man of the 1830s were called libas. They were made of cotton or linen, and had an embroided dikkeh/tikkeh (drawstring). It was typically knee or ankle length, with some religious men preferring the former due to a prohibition on the latter attributed to Mohammed.

The wealthy and middle class men's shift of the time was white, had full sleeves, and made of linen, cotton, muslin, silk, or silk-cotton stripe. It was an underlayer. The lower class men's shifts were often an outer layer. Theirs were commonly made of blue cotton or linen (an 'eree) or brown wool (a zaaboot). Both had wide sleeves and a neck opening that reached the waist.

Men's caftans were typically made of striped cotton and silk, though brocade was once popular, and they were lined with ramie. They were typically worn with a fabric belt (hizan or hizam), and may have a matching vest, called a sedria. They were typically ankle length, and the older style was to cut the sleeves so they extended a few inches past the fingertips and had a slit up to the wrist. This enabled the hands to be covered, as was the custom in the presence of those of higher status.

Over the caftan, shift, or sometimes underneath the shirt (as was preferred by lower class men), was the sedria, a sleeveless vest made of silk or cotton. A girdle of white muslin or a colored shawl may be worn over the sedria or caftan as well, with lower class men sometimes wearing their girdle or a red leather belt over just their shift.

Over the caftan, a coat such as a binish or djubbeh would be worn. The binish was a wide sleeved robe worn by scholars throughout the Near East, made of dark fabric with a silk facing. The sleeve sometimes had a slit on the bottom. Some distinguished the slit-less coat by calling it the farageeyeh. The djubbeh had a more complicated cut and narrow sleeves, which ended just above the wrist. It was also worn by Kurds.These garments were also worn by women in silk or velvet fabrics and brighter colors and embroidery. These caftans and coats persisted in Egypt into the early 20th century.

Djubbeh

The topmost layer was a square cloak called and abayeh or aba. It was often made of wool, and sometimes black, but blue and white and brown and white stripe were also common in the 1830s. Brighter colors such as purple or blue, with metal thread decoration, are also found in some extant 19th-century examples. A cloak like the aba, but fuller, also existed. It was called a diffeeyeh and usually black or blue in color. Some middle class men also might wear a black cotton gown over their clothes to avoid appearing wealthy.

The turban of the 19th-century consisted of a taqiya as the base layer, a tarboosh, and then a white muslin or Kashmir shawl (particularly in cool weather) wound around it. Poorer men usually used a scarf of red, yellow, or white wool, or a scarf of coarse cotton or muslin. Some poor men only wore the taqiya. Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad had the privilege of wearing green turbans. The dhimmis of the 1830s typically wore black, blue, grey, or light brown turbans and dull colored clothes.

Stockings were uncommon in the 1830s. When worn they were of cotton and wool. The most common shoes were pointed slippers of a leatver called "Morocco", with red for outdoors and yellow for indoors. Shoes were commomly layered so one could slip off their outdoor shoes without being barefoot while inside. The inkhorn, pencase, dagger, and case knife were often tucked into a man's girdle and worn openly. A tobacco purse and embroided kerchief were also often tucked into the chest of the caftan. Some men in the 1830s wore a blue and white melaya leff, thrown over the shoulders or wrapped around the body.

The 19th-century man usually had a seal ring, even if he was poor. It was worn on the right little finger. It was commonly of silver with a stone such as carnelian set into it. The stone was engraved with one's name and some manner of religious phrase.

19th-century Egyptian men shaped their facial hair by shaving or plucking above and below the lower jaw, and a small portion below the lower lip. The mustache and rest of the beard were kept short, but otherwise left alone. Dyeing grey beards was not common. Many men also shaved their hair except for a tuft at the top, though intellectuals looked down on this haircut.

A typical servant's costume of the 1830s had a white shift, a sedria, a caftan or a djubbeh or both, and a blue shirt as the outermost layer. The sleeves of the white shirt, which were very full, were sometimes tied back with a cord.

Egyptian men often wear a galabiya, and may wear a taqiya, sometimes with a turban. Egyptian men do not typically wear jewelry in the modern day, though they may wear prayer beads.

The common clothing for 19th century Egyptian women included a yelek or entari (anteri), a close fitting caftan derived from Turkish dress of either floor, hip, or waist length, vests, a shift, a sash, baggy pants (shintiyan), and outer garments for going out in public. This outfit was first adopted by Egyptian women in 1547. The sedria was sometimes worn by lower class women, particularly dancers.

Shintiyan (right)

Coptic priests wearing binish coats.

Egyptian men wearing galabiya in a studio portrait.

By the turn of the 20th century, upper class women adopted Western dress. However, middle class women continued wearing the prototypical women's galabiya, a yoked empire waist gown with a train. Their's were made of silk or satin, with lots of trim. Those worn at home or under black outer modesty garments were brightly colored. In the second half of the 19th-century, some dancers chose to wear a woman's galabiya instead of the Ottoman derived costume, sometimes with shintiyan and entari. However, many dancers kept the Ottoman derived costume, with a skirt instead of shintiyan. One dance group kept it into the 1970s, with a shorter skirt decorated with tiers of bead fringe and wide ribbons on the belt. Recognizable bedlah emerged in the 1930s.

The yelek was a long caftan with a fitted body and skirts with long slashes that allowed the panels to be tucked upwards and revealed the pants underneath. It had a low neckline and fastened with buttons. It had long sleeves that hung loose from the elbow and revealed the shift underneath. The entari was cut the same way, but shorter.

The sedria was worn under the yelek or entari and over the shift. It and the entari were sometimes covered in coins or trimmed with lace ruffles. The dancers entari and sedria ended just under the bust by the mid 19th-century, and the entari sometimes had gathered blousy sleeves. They were preferred by dancers over the yelek by thst time.

The shift adopted from the Ottoman style was knee length, and the sleeves were often edged with lace or embroidery. It was usually white, and made in any fiber except wool. It was sheer. In the 18th and early 19th-century, it was ankle length, but by the 1830s it was knee length. Dancer's shifts in the mid 19th-century were waist length.

Shintiyan were worn over underpants and made roughly one and a half times the length of the wearer's leg, then folded under and tied at the knee to give a poofed out look. They were made from a variety of fabrics. In the mid 19th-century, these were gradually discarded in favor of Western skirts by dancers.

One of the outer garments was the tob, thob, sebleh, or tob sebleh, which was a large, loose caftan with very wide sleeves, usually in a black or blue color. A poor woman's might be made of cotton. A wealthier woman's could be cotton with silk stripes, taffeta, or watered silk. Such a garment being worn by rural women was first described in the 17th century. Mantles such as the melaya leff were also worn, as were face veils.

All women wore hip shawls, though the dancers sometimes had jingles. Dancers adopted a distinctive ribbon belt in fabor of these, as well as a girdle made of amulet cases.

Women's indoor shoes were typically slippers called mezz, and outdoor shoes were calf length boots called khuff.

Women in the 19th century also wore headresses consisting of a cap and scarves wound around it, which jewelry was hung from. This cap was called a tarboosh, and the scarves were faroodeeyeh. The headdress itself was called a rabtah. Sometimes the front was decorated with spangles of gilt or silver, and the fabric was plain black or rose muslin or cotton. Lower-class women sometimes wore the rabtah, but often wore a simple kerchief tied over the hair.

The mizagee was another common item for women. It was a fillet made of a 5 foot long black or rose colored muslin folded horizontally to the width of a finger or less. The center 12-13 inches were decorated with spangles in diamond or boss patterns. At each end were a similarly decorated 12-13 inches, and an edging and silk tassels. The center sometimes had an edging with spangles. It was tied just above the edge of the rabtah with the decoration centered, and the ends were brought over the shoulders and hung over the chest.

the Kussah and 'En'ebeh, jeweled fillets that attach to the hair or headdress. These are similar to the Algerian Khit errouh.

a Diamond kurs, which was attached to the cap in a 19th-century lady's headdress

Necklaces common in 1830s Egypt.

Nose rings, now uncommon in Egypt.

Hegabs or hijabs, amuletic jewelry.

Other fillets made of jewels were popular among the middle and upper classes. The kussah was 7-8 inches long, and made of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, or pearls set in gold or silver. It was worn in front of the rabtah and attached with hooks. The 'en'ebeh was the same, but 14-15 inches long. The shawateh (sing. shateh) was a pair of ornaments made of three strands of pearls, each the length of a kussah, and united by a pierced emerald. Sometimes it was strung in a netted pattern instead of strands, with a few small emeralds sometimes included. It could be attached to the earrings, the front of the rabtah with festoons, or to a kussah's hooks and worn in the back of the headdress. Lower class women also wore the sheddah benad'kah, a string of Venetian sequins (a type of coin), in the same manner as the kussah or 'en'ebeh.

The kurs are round convex jewelry items, about 5 inches in diameter, sewn to the top of a ladies tarboosh. It was generally worn by upper and middle class women, but sometimes lower class women had a gold kurs. The diamond kurs was made of diamonds set in gold, or less commonly silver. It was quite heavy. The gold kurs was a plate of thin embossed gold. It had an emerald or green glass cabochon set in the center. The kurs and kussah worn on the outside of the red bridal shawl, and decorated the bier of a woman. A similar piece called a tepelikler or tepelik is also traditionally worn in Anatolia.

Smaller ornaments hung on the rabtah included the rishi (feather) and hilal (crescent), which were a sprig and crescent of diamonds set in gold or silver and worn in front or to the side of the rabtah. The kamarah (moon) was made of either a thin embossed plate of gold, or gems set in gold. It sometimes had an Arabic inscription, and had 7 pieces of gold called "bark" hanging on the bottom. The sakiyeh (waterwheel) is a circular filigree ornament made of gold with a gem in the center and bark at the bottom. Pearls were sometimes worked into the filigree, and it sometimes had emerald dangles. It is als recognizable today as an earring. The 'ood es-saleeb (wood of the cross) was of Christian origin, but also worn by Muslim women. It consisted of a small piece of wood encased in gold with bark hanging from it. The misht (comb) was a comb made of gold with 5 pieces of gold. It typically was not worn alone. Additionally, gems and glass were sometimes set with a hook and bark and hung from the rabtah.

Various ornaments attached to the hair or to a woman's turban or headscarf. 1 and 2 are examples of kamarah ornaments. 3 is a sakiyeh ornament. 4 is an 'ood es-saleeb. 5 and 6 are misht ornaments.

The libbeh and sha'eer (barley) are made of hollow gold beads, and popular among the middle and lower classes. The libbeh has a contrasting focal bead of coral or another semiprecious or precious stone in the center. The sha'eer is also called qurun (horns). The kiladeh was a long necklace that reached the girdle, made of precious stones. A similar necklace was made of gold coins of various kinds. The tók was a ring of silver, brass, pewter, or iron, worn as a necklace.

Anklets (khulkhal) of the 19th century were usually simple and made of solid gold or silver. They were heavy, and would strike each other while walking. Young girls sometimes wore strings of bells as anklets. Bracelets were commonly of gold, glass, brass, or bone.

Gold earrings were common in the 19th century, but many lower class women wore brass. Silver was uncommon. Some earrings used gems and glass as well.

The common hairstyle of 19th-century women was made of an odd number of tiny braids, somewhere between 11 and 21. The hair around the forehead and temples was left loose. Three silk cords per braid were braided in, with gold bark attached along their length. These cords were called ṣafa. Pendants, coins, tassels of pearls, and emerald or coral beads would be attached to the ends of the cords. The braids of cord were also sometimes attached to a silk band and tied around the head to form a braided wig. This hairstyle was initially associated with higher class women, but persisted longer among lower classes, dancers, and Beoduin women. Lower class women wore a similar hairstyle of two braids with red silk cord mixed in. This style was called 'okoos, and the long cords ended with tassels.

Egyptian women's cultural dress is subject to more regional variation than men's. Most regions of Egypt have a local wrapper or mantle that women traditionally wear, such as the melaya leff.

In Assuit, tulle bi telli cloth is produced and has a special importance, sometimes being called "assuit fabric". It is made of bobbinet and metal or plastic strips. It is used for women's dresses. A similar fabric called tel kirma is made in Turkey, and likely is the predecessor of tulle bi telli.

Nose rings were worn into the early 20th century, and were worn as early as the 1830s in Egypt. Most of Egypt at one time in the previous two centuries has or had a traditional nose piercing, regardless of region or ethnicity, with the exception of Siwi Amazigh women. The Upper Egyptian name for a nose ring, khuzam, dates back to at least the 1830s. 19th century nose rings were typically an inch to an inch and a half diameter, made of brass wire, strung with beads, and worn on the right side of the nose.

In Bahariya, the nose piercing is called the gatar or qatrah. It is made from 12 carat gold, never silver, using filigree or granulation. Local women believe a silver piercing would damage the blood vessels in their nose. It is only worn by married women on the left nostril. Traditionally the women of the region believe wearing the nose ring prevents pains and headaches. In Sinai, the nose ring is called a shenaf. It is made of gold with dangles and sometimes colored beads. It resembles Palestinian nose rings. In Nubia, the nose ring is called a zimam. It is worn by Nubians, the Rashayda, and Bishariya. The Rashayda usually have simple nose rings, resembling the 1830s examples. Some women in these regions still wear their nose rings.

Netted bead collars are a not uncommon jewelry item for rural women. The kirdan necklace is also popular, and usually made of gold or imitations.

Amulets in Egypt often take the form of shoes, scorpions, and fish, as well as eyes, turtles, hands, teeth, breasts (in Nubian jewelry), and celestial symbols. Amulets in the shape of swords are also used for pregnant women, as were iron anklets. Other jewelry items were used for children to confound the evil eye. Amulets also often were used medically, such as an earring worn through the upper shell of the ear to cure pain in various parts of the body.

Modern Egyptian earrings

Amulets which are, or are made to look like, containers are also popular, taking the form of small boxes or cylinders, and often called hegab. These made be made of leather or metal and may contain slips of paper with protective formulas written on them, though the metal ones are usually empty. They often have small bells called galagil attached. They may be worn on necklaces, tucked under the arm (with the cord crossing over the left shoulder and the case hanging under the right arm by the hip), or suspended from the head. In Lower Egypt they are often decorated with floral patterns and vertically divided galagil. In Upper Egypt, the patterns are usually geometric with horizontal galagil. Religious inscriptions were also sometimes used on the case itself. Sometimes these were also made with glass beads, with cowrie shells substituted for galagil.

In jewelry making, the use of red and blue forms general trends, with red being more popular in Upper Egypt, the Red Sea Coast, and neighboring Sudan; while blue is more popular in Lower Egypt, Sinai, and neighboring Palestine.

Lower class women of the 19th and early 20th century often had tattoos, and some men had them as well. These were typically of a blue pigment.