Ancient Egyptian Fashion: Footwear and Accessories

Imagine what it would be like if the ancient Egyptians came here in the present, bringing their passion for fashion to us? From their footwear to their jewelry to their makeup and hairstyles, are all very fascinating, revealing their influence on modern style, and producing an awareness about the universality and importance of fashion and beauty in human culture. I hope to inform you about how the ancient Egyptians made and wore their shoes, how they wore their makeup, how they designed their hairstyles and how they wore and made their jewelry. We’ll see how all of these influenced the ancient Egyptians’ jobs and social structure.

Just as today, shoes were very important for the Egyptians. You might think, what shoes were used daily for the Egyptians? “Both men and women wore sandals made of papyrus. Sandals made of vegetable fibers or leather were a common type of footwear. Nevertheless, men and women, including the wealthy, were frequently portrayed barefoot” (History Museum). Both men and women and the wealthy wore sandals which were all made of the same material, while some people simply went around barefoot. Could it be that the upper class were often barefoot because of the clean environments they live in? I mention this because both men and women are also often portrayed as barefoot.

Sandals, gold leaf, New Kingdom, 1479–1425 BC. Photo, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain

Jewelry has always been an important ornament of fashion. Nowadays, jewelry is often made with the materials diamonds, silver, bronze and gold. But has it ever occurred to you about what materials the ancient Egyptians used, or the different types back in time? Has it ever occurred to you the difference of jewelry worn by the upper classes and the lower classes? And how many types of jewelry there were? And has it ever occurred to you what different types of gemstones used in Ancient Egypt meant? It turns out that the wealthier class would use primarily gold and some copper, while the lower class uses mainly copper and bones, stones, fake pearls and tiger’s eye for their jewelry. At the time silver was not at hand yet, so jewelers created colors like rose, gray and reddish brown by combining various elements with gold. There are many types of jewelry, for instance, there are ankle bracelets, armbands, brooches, collar pieces, diadems, earrings, girdles, rectorals, rings and much more. Now, jewelry wasn’t only for fashion, or complimenting outfits. There are certain gemstones used in ancient Egyptian that are believed for expressing, and, achieving, happiness and even health, “Certain colors were thought to provide health benefits, which accounts for the prodigious use of color in ancient Egyptian jewelry” (Ancient Egyptian Jewelry). Emerald was believed potent for immortality and fertility, malachite was believed to promote healing, garnet symbolized the extremes of anger and fire and victory, obsidian symbolized death, and much much more. 

Makeup was always valued throughout the past and the present. Cosmetics may seem easy or difficult to use, it may or may not look good. Though the Ancient Egyptians were always portrayed to look good with makeup on, what materials did the Ancient Egyptians use for beauty products? “Both sexes wore eye make-up, most often outlining their lids with a line of black kohl” (History Museum). In short, makeup was always an important feature throughout history.

These cosmetic pots contained kohl, which the ancient Egyptians applied like eye-liner, perhaps to screen out the sun (Credit: Two Temple Place/Ipswich Museum)

If you never really paid much attention to your hair, then you’d be surprised at how much hair mattered and related to the Ancient Egyptians’ lives. You might think it wasn’t that important. Back in ancient Egypt, different hairstyles helped different jobs. Yet how? “Status: High status members of society had hairstyles that were more elaborated with added adornments. Role in society: if you were a priest, for example, then your hair had to be shaved and you could not use any kind of wig. Age: Children were required to shave their hair other than one ‘lock of youth,’ which they were required to dye” (History Museum). Hair needed to be styled depending on your job and spot on the social structure.

Hey! Do you see that girl over there? She looks a lot like an ancient Egyptian woman, for her hair is black and perfumed, with gold clasps adorning it, delicately framing her almond-shaped face, and her eyelashes are heavy with kohl! l almost thought I went back in time!