Pharaonic Egyptian clothing was very simple with little shaping. Linen was the most popular material, which was light and cool to wear. Wool is almost never used. Garments were draped around the body with little sewing. The main decoration was pleating. Coloured or patterned cloth was rarely used.

Most studies of Egyptian textiles come from studies of wall-paintings, reliefs and sculptures, which may not be reliable as they tend to show idealised and often archaic forms.

In general, men wore a lioncloth or short kilt, although shirt like garments have been found. The rich men would have worn a more elaborate kilt.

During the Old Kingdom, women are shown wearing a kind of sheath dress with broad shoulder straps. By the New Kingdom this had become a dress with only one strap. By c.1400 B.C. finer linen was worn and is sometimes shown almost see-through. However, the actual textiles that survive are bulky and sack like (Hall 1986).

The diaphanous net dresses as mentioned in the Westcar Papyrus do seem to exist in faience form. The Petrie Museum in London has one, and other Old Kingdom examples are known. However, maybe these were only worn in the grave. It would be very difficult to sit down in such a fragile faience dress.

Of course, people may not always have worn the extensive clothing normally considered 'proper' by western societies. The lower classes and dancing girls in particular may have been scantily clad or naked (as perhaps were the peasant men in the fields, (at least in the Old Kingdom) but, the lack of clothing and the see-through nature of tomb depictions of the upper classes does seem a little exaggerated compared to archaeological examples of clothing.

Further Reading

Hall, R. 1986 Egyptian Textiles, Shire Egyptology.