Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

Private Life 139
Men
The simplest male attire was a tunic a bit shorter than knee
length. Known as an exômis, which means “off the shoulder,” it
was held in place by means of a brooch or knot tied at the shoulder.
It was commonly worn by manual workers, including slaves,
though, in the fifth century, the Spartans adopted it as a military
tunic. On formal occasions, men wore a chitôn, similar to women.
Another popular garment was the himation, which was considerably
longer than the chitôn and worn either on top of it or without
any undergarment. This was a rectangular piece of cloth that
was generally wound over the left shoulder and under the right,
with the surplus material hanging over the left forearm. There was
practically no limit to the different ways of attaching it to the body,
however. Himatia were often dyed and embroidered with a patterned
border. In vase paintings and sculpture, those wearing a
himation are often depicted leaning on a stick, which suggests that
it was favored by older men. (Women also wore himatia, usually
draping them over the right shoulder and under the left arm in the
same way as men.) Another outer garment was the chlamys, which
was also rectangular but shorter than a himation and commonly
worn by travelers.
Men did not usually wear underwear. An article known as a
perizôma, which roughly translates as “loincloth,” seems to have
served mainly as an apron that was used by athletes, priests, soldiers,
cooks, and others.
There is some evidence to suggest that, in the Classical Period,
the clothing worn by Athenian men became simpler and less ornate
than it had been in the Archaic Period. According to Thukydides,
“The Spartans were the first to adopt a moderate costume . . . and
in other respects, too, the propertied class [of Athens] changed
their way of life to correspond as closely as possible to that of ordinary
men” (1.6.4). As we have seen, some Athenians, known as
Lakonizers, aped the Spartan dress code by wearing long hair and
paying little attention to their personal hygiene.
Hairstyles
Women wore their hair long in a variety of styles. Some plaited it
in tresses, others piled it up in a bun either at the nape of the neck or
on top of the head. Head scarves were also commonplace, covering
part or all of the hair. Athenian women only “let their hair down”—
literally—on special occasions, notably at festivals and funerals.