In ancient Egypt, linen fabric was so appreciated for its special qualities the Egyptians believed the gods to be clothed linen before descending to this world. Linen was the primary textile from which clothing was made, and linen cloth was used to wrap the bodies of the deceased before they were placed in the tomb.

Egyptian dress consisted in simple cut cloth pieces held together by knotting and secured to the body by waist belts made from textile or animal hide. Dresses were also made to hang from the upper body, by attaching fabric to a neck collar.

As Egyptian culture evolved, so did dress habits. The short linen skirt men wore belted around the waist took on pleats and gathers. A shoulder cape was taken up to partially cover a bare torso. Women wore a sheath-like gown which covered the body from the ankles to just beneath the breasts, and hung in place by shoulder straps. Interestingly, very similar styles were worn by the Minoan peoples of early Greece. For both, dress styles depictions were left behind in colorful murals on crumbling monuments.

Egyptian dress evolved eventually to cover more of the body for both men and women. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ancient Greek fashion followed a similar pattern of development. The Egyptians introduced more complex draping using larger pieces of material. The most popular draping styles seems to have been the gathering of all pleats around a single point at the waist.

Despite fascinating information revealed by several thousand year old wall paintings, the dress styles depicted are not always to be taken literally, since they do not necessarily represent the dress habits of the common Egyptian. On the other hand, what is worn in the rural outlands of Egypt does provide clues.

Today as in ancient times, the ghellebiyya, a long tunic made of a breathable fabric, is worn to comfort and protect the body from harsh desert climates. Worn since before Roman times, the ghellebiyya is classic tailoring fitted for the desert. Likewise, the turban cloth is used to shelter the head from the elements. Besides providing protection from the wind and desert sand, the turban also protects against heat stroke when the sun is at its most powerful.

With a history longer than the pharaohs, the Bedouin are a people particularly adept at weathering the elements, and their clothing reflects all of style, wisdom, and necessity. On a desert morning, when temperatures rise and the wind is blowing so that all those tiny particles of sand seek entrance to the mouth, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the back of one’s neck, and even one’s shoes, anyone would surely know the reason both the turban and the ghellebiyya have been worn for millennia.

In Egypt today, it is often the Bedouin people who continue to wear traditional dress. But while the ghellebiyya helps to cool and protect, it also ensures keeping to the requirements of the Muslim faith, and so it still worn in the cities, though mostly by the older generation. Young Egyptian men and women are style conscious, and modern dress is essential.

Be it jeans and a t-shirt or business suits, tailored, impeccable dress is the Egyptian response to fashion. The warmer shades of blue are classically Egyptian, and likewise are shades of red and purple. In an ever-expanding urban landscape, European dress styles are very much a part of the Egyptian culture, and the modern Egyptian has a flare for combining Western styling with Arab flavor.