History of clothing and textiles facts for kids

The history of clothing and textiles explores how clothes and fabrics have changed throughout human history. Our clothes show what materials and tools people had in different times and places. They also tell us a lot about a society's customs and culture.

Humans are the only animals who wear clothes, and almost all human societies do. Scientists aren't sure exactly when people started wearing clothes. Some studies, looking at tiny insects called body lice, suggest it might have been around 170,000 years ago. Clothes helped early humans move to colder places outside of Africa. Experts think people first used animal skins and plants to protect themselves from the weather.

Silk weaving started in India around 400 AD. People in India were spinning cotton as early as 3000 BC. Even older findings from about 7000 BC show cotton fibers were used in the Indus Valley.

Fabrics, or textiles, can be made from fibers that are pressed together (like felt) or spun into yarn. This yarn can then be knit, woven, or looped to create cloth. The first fabrics appeared in the Middle East during the late Stone Age. How we make and use textiles has always changed, affecting our clothes and how we decorate our homes.

We learn about old clothes and textiles from many sources. Archaeology helps us find actual pieces of fabric. Art shows us how clothes were made and worn. Old writings also tell us about how fabrics were created, bought, used, and traded.

Early Clothing and Textiles

A reconstruction of clothes worn by a boy from Sungir, about 30,000 years ago.

Scientists have studied how clothing and textiles developed long ago. Still, they don't all agree on when humans first started wearing clothes. Estimates range from 40,000 to even 3 million years ago!

When Did People Start Wearing Clothes?

Some researchers, like those at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, used a clever way to guess when clothes first appeared. They studied lice! Body lice can only live in clothes. So, by looking at how body lice changed over time, scientists could estimate when clothes became common. These studies suggest clothes might have started between 40,000 and 170,000 years ago.

This invention of clothing might have happened when early humans, called Homo sapiens, started moving out of warm Africa to colder places. This journey began between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. Other ancient human relatives might have worn clothes even earlier.

Direct evidence from archaeology also helps. In 2021, scientists found clues in Morocco that suggest clothes were made between 90,000 and 120,000 years ago. Even with all this research, there's still no single, agreed-upon date for when clothing began.

Ancient cave paintings from about 30,000 years ago show people wearing simple skin coverings. Actual pieces of woven fabric have been found from as far back as 7000 BC.

Tools for Making Clothes

Sewing needles are very old tools! Some found in Denisova Cave in Siberia are at least 50,000 years old. These early needles helped people stitch animal skins and other materials together. Other ancient needles have been found in places like South Africa, China, and France.

The oldest known dyed flax fibers, used for making cloth, were found in a cave in the Republic of Georgia. They are about 36,000 years old.

Ancient statues, like the 25,000-year-old "Venus of Lespugue" from France, show early forms of clothing. These figures wear skirts made of cloth or twisted fibers, hats, and belts. Archaeologists think these might have been special clothes for rituals or to show a person's social status.

Later, archaeologists found tools used for making textiles, such as net gauges, spindle needles, and weaving sticks from around 5000 BC.

Ancient Clothing and Fabrics

Thanks to new technology, we know much more about ancient clothes and textiles. After animal skins, felt might have been one of the first fabrics. In Peru, a woven plant-fiber fabric from 8,000 BCE was found in Guitarrero Cave. Another old way of making fabric, called Nålebinding, has been found in Israel from 6500 BC.

Weaving with Looms

A loom is a machine used to weave fabric. For a long time, two main types of looms were used in Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. These were the warp-weighted loom and the two-beam loom. The size of the loom determined how wide the cloth could be, sometimes up to 2–3 meters. Early clothes were often made from these full widths of fabric, draped or pinned.

Preserving Ancient Textiles

Our knowledge of ancient cultures depends a lot on the climate where old things are found. Dry places like the Middle East, South America, and parts of China have preserved many very old fabrics. Wet places like peat bogs and frozen ground (permafrost) in northern Europe also kept textiles safe. For example, the complete clothes of Ötzi ("the Iceman") from the Neolithic period survived in ice.

Ancient Textile Trade

The Silk Road

During the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, nomadic groups in the Eurasian Steppe traded and shared cultures, including clothing styles.

Around 114 BC, the Han dynasty in China started the famous Silk Road. This was a network of trade routes, over 8,000 km (5,000 mi) long, connecting China with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road was very important for the growth of great civilizations like China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, and Rome. Luxury textiles, especially silk, were a main item traded along this route.

Ancient Near East Clothing

The oldest known woven fabrics in the Near East are flax cloths used to wrap the dead. These were found at a Neolithic site in Çatalhöyük in Anatolia and date back to about 6000 BC. People were growing flax in the Near East around 8000 BC. Sheep with woolly fleece (instead of just hair) appeared much later, around 3000 BC.

In Mesopotamia, the everyday clothes of a Sumerian were simple. In winter, they wore clothes made of sheep fur. Rich men often wore short skirts called kaunakes, while women wore long dresses. Kings wore tunics and coats. Over time, as wool weaving improved, clothes became more varied. Men started wearing tunics with sleeves, and women's dresses had many different designs.

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  Sumerian statues of worshippers; 2800-2400 BC; National Museum of Iraq (Baghdad)

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  The god Abu (?) and a female statuette; 2800-2400 BC; from Tell Asmar (Iraq); National Museum of Iraq.

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  The Statue of Ebih-Il; c. 2400 BCE; Louvre (Paris)

Ancient India Clothing

Archaeologists have found a few twisted cotton threads at Indus Valley civilization sites. A statue from Mohenjo-daro, called the "Priest King," shows a man wearing a shawl with flower patterns. This is one of the few detailed examples of clothing from that time.

People in the Indus Valley might have used natural colors to dye their fabrics. Research shows that indigo plants, used for blue dye, were grown there.

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote about Indian cotton in the 5th century BCE, calling it "a wool exceeding in beauty and goodness that of sheep." When Alexander the Great came to India in 327 BCE, his soldiers started wearing comfortable cotton clothes instead of their woolen ones.

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  Statue of "Priest King" wearing a robe; 2400–1900 BCE; National Museum of Pakistan (Karachi)

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  The Buddha wearing kāṣāya robes; c. 200 BC; Tokyo National Museum (Japan)

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  Ancient form of Churidar worn during the Gupta period; c. 300 AD; National Museum (New Delhi)

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  Shakuntala wearing a sari, painting by Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1870.

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  Painting depicting the legend of the princess who hid silk worm eggs in her headdress; 7th to 8th century; British Museum (London)

Ancient Egypt Clothing

Evidence shows that linen cloth was made in Ancient Egypt around 5500 BC. They grew domesticated wild flax from about 6000 BC. Other plant fibers like rush, reed, palm, and papyrus were used for ropes and other textiles.

Ancient Egyptians used simple methods for spinning yarn, like the drop spindle. They used a horizontal loom, and later a vertical loom was introduced.

Linen bandages were important for mummification. Art shows Egyptian men wearing linen kilts and women in narrow dresses, often made of sheer, pleated fabric.

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  Pair of sandals; 1390–1352 BC; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

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  Illustration from the book Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations

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  Illustration of a Goddess from Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations

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  Statue of Sobekhotep VI, wearing the Egyptian male skirt, the shendyt; Neues Museum (Berlin, Germany)

Ancient China Clothing

The earliest signs of silk production in China come from sites dating between 5000 and 3000 BC. Fragments of early looms have also been found from about 4000 BC. Pieces of silk from 2700 BC were discovered at a Liangzhu culture site.

During the Shang Dynasty (around 1600 – 1046 BC), Han Chinese clothing, or Hanfu, included a knee-length tunic called a yi and an ankle-length skirt called a shang. Wealthy people wore silk clothes in bright colors.

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  Painting of Emperor Yao wearing a shenyi

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  The Yellow Emperor wearing a mianguan

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  Woven silk textile from the Mawangdui in Changsha, 2nd century BC

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  The mianfu of Emperor Wu of Jin dynasty, 7th-century painting by Yan Liben

Ancient Burma (Pyu Period)

The Pyu culture, important in Upper Burma from early CE to the 9th century, shows some of the first examples of dress in Myanmar. Sculptures from sites like Hanlin and Sri Ksetra give us clues.

Pyu men wore headwraps and sometimes crown-like headpieces. Women had fancy head ornaments. Both men and women wore jewelry like large bead necklaces and ear ornaments. Clothes were often made of thin material.

At Sri Ksetra, Pyu women wore sarong-like skirts. Men wore loose trousers with a belt or sash. Chinese records say Pyu people wore cotton, not silk, because of their Buddhist beliefs against harming silkworms.

Maitreya the Bodhisattva in 7th century Pyu art

Pyu statue of Vishnu and Lakshmi, Archaeological Museum of Hmawza, Pyay.

Ancient South America

The oldest textiles in South America are about 12,000 years old. These woven fabrics were found in the Guitarrero Cave in Peru. Settlers likely used them for baskets and wall coverings. Research suggests women were among these early settlers, as textile weaving was often done by women.

Ancient Japan

The earliest evidence of weaving in Japan is from the Jōmon period. Pottery from this time has patterns made by cords. Cloth fragments made from bark fibers, dating back about 5,500 years, were found in Miyagi Prefecture. Hemp fibers were also discovered, suggesting these plants were used for clothing. Jōmon pottery shows people wearing short tops, trousers, and rope belts. Since bone needles were found, it's thought they sewed their clothes.

During the Yayoi period, rice farming changed society and clothing. Chinese writings from that time describe simple clothes like fabric wrapped around the body or poncho-like garments.

The Yamato period (300 to 550 AD) saw changes in clothing styles. Tomb statues (haniwa) show people wearing two-piece outfits: an upper piece with an opening in front and loose trousers for men, or a pleated skirt for women. Silk farming was introduced, but silk was expensive and only worn by higher classes.

Later, in the Asuka period (550 to 646 AD) and Nara (646 to 794 AD), Japan adopted Chinese laws and social rankings. These laws required people to wear different styles and colors to show their social status. Clothes became longer and wider, and sewing methods improved.

Classical Period of the Philippines

The Boxer Codex, showing the attire of a Classical period Filipino, made of silk and cotton

Classical Filipino clothing showed a person's social standing, depending on its cost and style. Basic clothes included the bahag (a loincloth) and a tube skirt, or a light blanket. For public events, people added more special clothes like blouses, tunics, capes, or long robes. The fabrics varied from abaca to cotton and expensive imported silk.

Men often wore a turban called a pudong. A red pudong, called magalong, was a sign of brave warriors. The most respected pudong were made of very fine, white abaca, tie-dyed scarlet.

Women usually wore a kerchief or a broad-brimmed hat made of sago-palm leaves. Some hats were signs of rank.

Classical Greece and Rome

A multigenerational banquet depicted on a wall painting from Pompeii, 1st century AD

In Ancient Greece, fabric was woven on a warp-weighted loom. An ancient vase from around 550-530 BCE shows two women weaving on such a loom.

Clothes in classical antiquity were often large, unsewn pieces of fabric draped and pinned around the body.

Ancient Greek clothing used wool or linen. Common garments included the peplos (a loose robe for women), the chlamys (a cloak for men), and the chiton (a tunic for both sexes). Men's chitons reached their knees, while women's reached their ankles. A long cloak called a himation was worn over these.

The toga of ancient Rome was also an unsewn piece of wool cloth. Male citizens wore it draped over a simple tunic. Women wore the draped stola or an ankle-length tunic, with a shawl-like palla as an outer garment. Wool was popular, but linen, hemp, and some expensive imported silk and cotton were also used.

Ancient Europe

Neolithic Age Clothes

Early European fabrics were made from flax and bast fibers. The first wool textiles appeared in the Late Neolithic period.

Bronze Age Clothes

Reconstruction of the Mierzanowice culture people from Poland, circa 2100 to 1650 BC

Pieces of wool fabric from the Bronze Age and Iron Age have been found in salt mines in Austria. These were often coarse because the wool from sheep at that time had many guard hairs. However, the weaving included both simple plain weave and more complex twill weave. Fabrics were natural colors or dyed.

Iron Age Clothes

Iron Age fabrics were finer than those from the Bronze Age. The spun thread was very even and thin. Some fabrics also had woven stripe patterns. This improvement came from developing sheep breeds with finer wool.

Celtic costumes from the La Tène period, third century BC

Other Iron Age fabrics found in peat bogs in northwestern Europe show woven wool dresses, tunics, and skirts. These were mostly unshaped and held in place with leather belts and metal pins. Clothes were often decorated with contrasting colors. Men wore breeches, possibly with wrapped lower legs. People also wore woollen shawls and animal skin capes for warmth.

Medieval Clothing and Textiles

The history of Medieval European clothing has been studied a lot. Books like Textiles and Clothing: Medieval Finds from Excavations in London help us understand this period.

Byzantine Clothing

The Byzantines made and sold very richly patterned cloth. Wealthy people wore woven and embroidered fabrics, while others wore resist-dyed and printed cloth. By the time of Emperor Justinian, the Roman toga was replaced by the tunica, or long chiton, for everyone. Upper classes wore other garments like the dalmatica (a heavier, shorter tunic) and cloaks.

Early Medieval European Dress

Edgar I of England in short tunic, hose, and cloak, 966

European clothing changed slowly between 400 and 1100 AD. People dressed differently depending on if they were part of the old Roman population or new groups like the Franks and Anglo-Saxons. The new groups often wore short tunics with belts and visible trousers or hose. The Romanized people and the Church kept wearing longer tunics.

Wealthy people imported silk from the Byzantine and Muslim worlds, and also cotton. They could afford bleached linen and dyed wool made in Europe. Embroidery was probably very common. Poorer people wore local or homemade wool, often undyed, with simple decorations.

High Middle Ages and the Rise of Fashion

14th-century Italian silk damasks

In 12th and 13th century Europe, clothes were quite simple and similar across the continent. Working men wore short tunics with hose, while women and upper-class men wore long tunics with over-dresses. Most clothing didn't change much for centuries.

The 13th century saw big improvements in dyeing and working with wool, which was the most important fabric for outer clothes. Linen was used more for clothes worn next to the skin because it could be washed and bleached. Cotton, imported from Egypt, was used for padding and quilting.

Crusaders returning from the Middle East brought knowledge of fine textiles, including light silks, to Western Europe. Silk was a very expensive luxury in Northern Europe. Wealthy people could buy woven brocades from Italy.

Historians agree that around the mid-14th century, "fashion" as we know it began in Europe. From this time on, Western fashion changed much faster than in other cultures. Clothes started to fit the body more closely, using curved seams, lacing, and buttons. A style called mi-parti, with garments made of two different colored fabrics, became popular for men.

Renaissance and Early Modern Period

Renaissance Europe Clothing

Bold floral patterned silks, 15th century

Wool remained the most popular fabric for everyone, followed by linen and hemp. Wool fabrics came in many qualities, from rough undyed cloth to fine, dense broadcloth. High-quality broadcloth was very important for the English economy. Wool fabrics were dyed in rich colors like red, green, gold, and blue.

Silk-weaving was well-established around the Mediterranean by the 15th century. Fancy silks, often velvets with silver threads, were seen more and more in the clothes of wealthy Europeans. Designs with pomegranate or artichoke patterns came from China and became popular in Ottoman silk centers and then in Italian cities like Florence and Venice.

As people became wealthier in the 15th century, the middle classes started wearing more complex clothes that followed the styles of the rich. Clothing styles also started to differ more between countries.

Early Modern Europe Clothing

Slashing at its height: Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, c. 1514

A French reinterpretation of Spanish fashion, with elaborate reticella ruff, 1609

In the early 16th century, clothing in places like Germany and Scandinavia developed differently from England, France, and Italy. However, all were influenced by the formal Spanish style after the 1520s.

Elaborate slashing (cuts in the fabric to show the lining) was popular, especially in Germany. Black became a common color for formal occasions. Bobbin lace developed in the mid-16th century, probably in Flanders. This century also saw the rise of the ruff, which grew from a small ruffle to huge, cartwheel shapes that sometimes needed wire supports.

By the early 17th century, there was a clear difference between the serious styles favored by Protestants in England and the Netherlands, and the lighter, more revealing styles of the French and Italian courts.

Beautiful needlelace became very popular. Lacemaking centers were set up in France to reduce the need to buy lace from Italy.

Mughal India Textiles

A woman in Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, clad in fine Bengali muslin, 18th century.

Mughal India (16th to 18th centuries) was a major center for manufacturing in global trade. India produced about 25% of the world's industrial goods until the 18th century. The biggest industry was textile manufacturing, especially cotton fabrics like calicos and muslins. India had a 25% share of the global textile trade in the early 18th century.

Indian cotton textiles were very important in world trade, sold from the Americas to Japan. The Bengal Subah province, especially around its capital Dhaka, was a key center for cotton production. Bengali silk and cotton were exported to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan.

In early modern Europe, there was a high demand for textiles from Mughal India. European fashion became more dependent on Indian fabrics and silks. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Mughal India supplied 95% of British imports from Asia.

Mughal women wore long, loose jamas with full sleeves. In winter, they added a Qaba or a Kashmir shawl as a coat. Jewelry was also very important for style and religious meaning.

Pre-Colonial North America Clothing

Native people across North America made clothes from natural fibers like cotton and agave, and from animal skins like deer or beaver. When Europeans arrived, they brought sheep. Beaver pelts were highly valued for their warmth and became a major trade item.

Enlightenment and the Colonial Period

A Concert in an Interior by Jan Josef Horemans the Younger of Antwerp, 1764. The women's sack-back gowns and the men's coats over long waistcoats are characteristic of this period.

During the 18th century, there was a difference between full dress (for formal events) and undress (everyday clothes). Over time, full dress became less common. Full dress followed the styles of the French court, with rich silks and fancy embroidery. Men continued to wear the coat, waistcoat, and breeches. These sometimes matched, leading to the idea of the three-piece suit.

Women's dresses featured small, domed hoops in the 1730s and 1740s. Later, side hoops or panniers became very wide, sometimes three feet on each side, at the court of Marie Antoinette. Fashion became very elaborate. However, new interests in outdoor activities and a movement towards simpler, more democratic dress, influenced by thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the American Revolution, led to new styles. After the French Revolution, British wool tailoring became very popular.

For women's dresses, Indian cottons, especially printed chintzes, were imported a lot. Towards the end of this period, simple white muslin dresses became fashionable.

The Great Male Renunciation

The Great Male Renunciation is a term for a historical change at the end of the 18th century. Wealthy Western men stopped wearing bright colors, elaborate shapes, and a variety of clothes. These styles were then mostly left to women's clothing. Instead, men focused on small differences in the cut and quality of plain cloth.

This change, named by British psychologist John Flügel in 1930, is seen as a big moment in clothing history. Men gave up their claim to fancy adornment and beauty in their everyday wear.

Industrial Revolution and Clothing Changes

Textile machinery at the Cambrian Factory, Llanwrtyd, Wales in the 1940s

Estonian national clothes changed a lot after the Industrial Revolution, with new colors and styles. Members of University of Tartu Folk Art Ensemble wearing clothes specific to Kihnu island and Tõstamaa area.

During the Industrial Revolution, machines powered by waterwheels and steam engines started making fabric. Production moved from small home workshops to large factories. However, making clothes themselves still involved a lot of handwork.

Sewing machines appeared in the 19th century, making clothing production much faster.

Factories encouraged people to buy cheaper goods made elsewhere instead of more expensive local goods. This led to a big increase in manufacturing. Most factory workers were women. Many women left home to work in textile factories to earn money for their families or to save for their future. This work also gave them a sense of independence.

1895 Punch cartoon. Gertrude: "My dear Jessie, what on earth is that Bicycle Suit for?"
Jessie: "Why, to wear, of course."
Gertrude: "But you haven't got a Bicycle!"
Jessie: "No; but I've got a Sewing Machine!"

Women's fashion from the 1850s to the 1880s featured large crinolines (hoops under skirts), bulky bustles, and padded busts with tiny waists. This was achieved by wearing tight corsets. Some people argued that corsets were bad for health, causing problems with internal organs. Others believed corsets were necessary for a stylish look.

Women involved in social movements, like those fighting for anti-slavery, wanted practical clothes that didn't restrict their movement. They believed that changing fashion could help women gain more social freedom and independence. The dress reform movement had the most success in changing women's undergarments and encouraging simpler clothes for sports like bicycling.

20th-Century Clothing Developments

The 20th century brought new uses for textiles, inventions in man-made fibers, and computer-controlled manufacturing.

New Uses for Textiles

Changing lifestyles in the 20th century meant people wanted clothes with special features, like being stronger, more stretchy, or lasting longer. These features could be added by different weaving patterns, changing the fibers, or by special treatments. Since the 1960s, textiles could be treated to resist stains, flames, wrinkles, and microbes. New dye technology allowed for coloring fibers that were once hard to dye.

Man-Made Fibers

Nylon stockings being inspected in Malmö, Sweden, in 1954

After plastics were invented, fibers could be made artificially. This allowed for very precise control over fiber size and shape. Fibers like nylon, polyester, Spandex, and Kevlar were invented between 1930 and 1970. Clothing makers quickly started using these man-made fibers, often mixing them with natural ones for better properties.

Automation in Textile Production

The early 20th century continued the progress of the Industrial Revolution. Machines for knitting and weaving already used punch-cards to control patterns. In the 1960s, computers were added to these machines, making them more accurate and efficient. In 1983, the first computer-controlled Jacquard loom was introduced. These advances meant machine operators also needed computer skills.

21st Century Clothing and Textiles

In 2015, Google president Eric Schmidt said that the huge interest in the dress Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammy Awards led to the creation of Google Images search. People searched so much for pictures of her "jungle green" dress that Google realized they needed a better way to find images.

In the 2010s, the global textile industry faced criticism for practices that harm the environment. Textile production can have a negative impact at almost every step.

The global trade of secondhand clothing helps reduce waste in landfills. However, challenges in textile recycling mean this market is still small compared to how much new clothing is used. Many brands now advertise products made from recycled materials because consumers want more sustainable options. Investments in textile recycling companies have grown since 2010 to meet this demand.

New textile treatments, coatings, and dyes can sometimes affect human health. Skin problems related to textiles are becoming more common among workers and everyday people.

Experts have noticed that people in Western countries buy new clothes more often, and clothes don't last as long. This trend, called Fast fashion, contributes to more textile waste.

In 2013, the worldwide market for textiles and apparel exports was $772 billion. In 2016, the largest apparel exporting nations included China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.

See also

In Spanish: Historia de la moda para niños