Women Fashion Differences

    Women in the Byzantine and Islamic empires dress differently, but the clothing represents the same things in both empires. The Islamic source that will explain the differences is, Women listening from the gallery. Image from the Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī. MS Arabe 5847, fol. 58v, detail. Bibliotheque Nationale,Paris.  The Byzantine Empires’s painting is Portrate of a Women in a White tunic. These pictures show the difference in the amount of clothing, the color of clothing and  the difference in why the garment was worn. 

The primary sources are:
Islamic Empire: It is a painting of seven women listing in the gallery. They are all sitting and they all have parts of their faces covered. They all have a lot of cloth around them, covering their entire bodies. This garment is like a cloak, one rectangular piece. Some of the women may be wearing jewelry, others are not.  Most of them have their mouths covered and the rest have their eyes covered. The second and third women from the right look like they are richer because the print is richer and they are wearing more jewelry.  All the women are not smiling. The colors of the wraps are green, yellow, blue or red.

Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī. MS Arabe 5847, fol. 58v, detail. Bibliotheque Nationale,Paris.

The Byzantine Empire is a portrait of a woman wearing a loose, white tunic with a boat shaped collar. The women is wearing hoop earrings with small pearls. Her head and face is not covered to show that her hair is parted in the middle and pulled back. There is a burnt red strap on her right shoulder. According to my research, from an article by Dawn Vukson - Van Beek, the woman's tunic tells us that she is of the lower class. The tunica was the underclothes in the winter and sometimes the actual garment in the summer. It normally would have been warn under a stola, which is like an over coat.

Portriat of a Woman in a White Tunic

Outline:
1. The Islamic women are more confined in what they have to wear, like having to be complacently covered     up.

     a) Why this type of clothing, and why wear it like that?

            i. Protection: It protects one from the sun, the cold, and the eyes of the unknown

            ii. The Norm: It was normal for women to cover themselves and submit themselves to men. In some                   places in Turkey, women were held higher than men, and to travelers, it seemed unnatural. The                     women in the painting had their faces covered form the men in the gallery.

     b) How does the clothing show class and wealth?

            i. Jewelry: The jewels on women 2,3, and 6 bodies and clothes indicated that they were of a higher                 class, because they can afford the jewels. In the Medieval time, jewelry was mainly for the men, but               the richer women could wear it as well.

           ii. Cloth Patterns: The patterns on the cloth was more elaborate, meaning more expensive on women                  2,3, and 6, also showing that they were of a richer class than the other women.

2. The Byzantine women are much more freer in the type of garment, because they do not have to cover           their faces and can be seen in public in a tunic, or essentially an undergarment.

      a) Why this type of clothing, and why wear it like that?

            i. Versatility: Tunics were the Byzantine people's staple garment, much like our pair of jeans. Made                  either of fine wool, silk or linen. They were the underclothes for the rich or the common for the                      poor or working class.

           ii. Comfort: Most always the tunic was white, making it cooler in the Mediterranean heat.                                 Occasonaly, the tunic would be sleeveless, also to make it cooler. It would normally go under a                     stola, or embellished over coat, for the richer people.

     b) How does the tunic show class and wealth?

           i. The material: If it was made of silk, the wearer was probably rich. The tunic in the painting is                         linen, or fine wool showing that the woman is of the lower class.

           ii. The style: The more embellishments that are on the tunic, the richer the person is. So, because there                are no trimming, the women was lower class. Also, if the tunic is being warn as an undergarment,                  then there is a stola, which is not present.

3. The Byzantine women are more freer, than the Islamic women based on the style of clothing, but the             clothing is used as a symbol of wealth in both Islamic and Byzantine cultures.

      a) Why Byzantine are freer.

            i.  No head coverings: The Byzantine women do not have to have their heads and faces covered up.                 In the Byzantine empire, it was very rare for a woman to wear a hat, or anything on her head.
            ii. Bodily  Coverage: The Muslim women had almost every inch covered up, but the tunics could be                  sleeveless, leaving the arms exposed, along with the neck because of the boat shaped                                    neckline.Unlike the Muslim women who had their necks covered as well.
      b) How they are similar
            i. They represented wealth: If a woman had a more expensive fabric, like silk, or a more elaborate                    fabric, then the woman was most likely from the upper class.
            ii. If a woman had more jewelry, or more embellishments, signified a wealthier class.

Works Cited
Vukson-Van Beek, Dawn. "Byzantine Costumes." N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.                        <http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01181/Byzantine%20costume.pdf>.

"Women in Islam: Muslim Women." Women in Islam: Muslim Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://islam.uga.edu/Islamwomen.html>.

Al-Kaslaania, Samia. "Sayyeda Al-Kaslaania's Fatimid Arts." : Medieval Islamic Cloak-type Wraps:Material Culture Fourteen: A&S 50 Challenge. N.p., 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.                 <http://idlelion.blogspot.com/2010/03/50-challenge-material-culture-fourteen.html>.

Mann, Horace. "Part I: What Do the Qur'an and Hadith Have to Say about Muslim Clothing?"Muslim and Middle Eastern Clothing, Jewelry, Make-up. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.hudsoncress.net/hudsoncress.org/html/library/nonfiction/Islamic%20Clothing.pdf>.

Portrait of a Woman in a White Tunic. 4th Century. Photograph. Joseph Brummer Gallery, New York.
Women Listening from a Gallery. 5847. Photograph. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.