Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. Popularly, Byzantine dress remained attached to its classical Greek roots with most changes and different styles being … 展开

The most common images surviving from the Byzantine period are not relevant as references for actual dress worn in the period. Christ (often … 展开

A 14th-century mosaic (right) from the Kahriye-Cami or Chora Church in Istanbul gives an excellent view of a range of costume from the late period. From the left, there is a soldier on … 展开

In the early stages of the Byzantine Empire the traditional Roman toga was still used as very formal or official dress. By Justinian's time this had been replaced by the tunica, or long chiton, for both sexes, over which the upper classes wore other garments, like a dalmatica ( 展开

Modesty was important for all, and most women appear almost entirely covered by rather shapeless clothes, which needed to be able to accommodate a … 展开

As in Graeco-Roman times, purple was reserved for the royal family; other colours in various contexts conveyed information as to class and clerical or … 展开

Many men went bareheaded and, apart from the Emperor, they were normally so in votive depictions, which may distort the record we have. In the late Byzantine period a number of … 展开