---
node: fashion_byzantine_greece
type: fashion
slug: byzantine_greece_fashion
title: "Fashion in Byzantine Greece"
lead: "In Byzantine Greece the classical draped garment gave way to long, covering robes and sumptuous silk; under Christian modesty, dress adorned with embroidery and jewels was prized."
published: 2026-07-28
updated: 2026-07-28
image_file: byzantine_greece_fashion.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meister_von_San_Vitale_in_Ravenna_003.jpg"
image_author: "Mosaic, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna (before 547)"
image_license: "Public domain"
change: "Created as a fashion sub-page under the history section, with a period image (greece region)"
requester: internal
reason: "Per the owner's decision, fashion lives under each history era"
---

## Overview

As part of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, Greece belonged to a world of silk and splendid court dress.

## Key garments and style

People wore long-sleeved tunics or the dalmatica under a long over-robe, covering the body; at court, silk was worked with gold-thread embroidery and pearls, and the emperor wore splendid regalia such as the loros. Colour marked rank.

## Transition

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Greece passed under the Ottoman Empire and its dress changed.