clothing and jewellery

Clothing and Jewellery

In Ancient China a persons status was often depicted in the style of clothes worn. Unlike other civilisations China had it down pat when it came to fashion. They had different textures of clothes, colours, jewellery and all the accessories associated with the wealth and knowledge they had of fashion. Their clothes were made of silk that was worn everyday. The quality progressed depending on a special occasion. Peasants, who obviously couldn't afford such luxuries, wore a shirt-like piece of clothing made of undyed hemp. Over time the fashion changed but basically it was just altered a bit. As for jewellery, the scholar gentry class had jewellery made from gold, silver, jade, or brass. Others just had copper and iron pieces. Women of the Tang Dynasty started to wear one hundred bird feather skirts, but it was banned to prevent rare bird species from becoming extinct. Males became what some psychiatrists would call obsessive saying they would not go out in public without a head dress, which became a symbol of a person's status and occupation. There were five main hats worn by emperors, and they were the plain emperors hat, the lacquered guaze cage hat, water chestnut kercheif hat, the warrior helmet and a guaze turban. Men's clothes in the Tang dynasty consisted of long lace robes which were quite heavy, so when they hung down they didn't flap in the wind, and a woman dressed in long flowing silk dresses. More dress-inclined people wore a skirt and a jacket on the top with a short-sleeved upper garment.

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