Elite Women, Their Clothing, and Fashion on the Silk Road

The Silk Road, while not a set route across Asia and the Middle East, was significantly influential throughout the countries it connected. One such influence that came from the Silk Road was silk itself. Silk traveled in many forms, but the most common was as bolts of raw silk. However, that silk could eventually become garments. All along the Silk Road, there were many upper-class families, and the women in the families would work with silk and more often than not, wear the garments. Every country had their own patterns embroidered in the silk, and the beauty of the Silk Road is how those motifs traveled.

Tang China

In Tang China from the 6th to 8th centuries, there is evidence of women wearing silk garments of many colors and patterns. The weavers who created these garments were very skilled and crucial to the Tang Dynasty. The many patterns were sought after. Decorated silk was favored by elites who wanted to appear fashionable as well. One painting titled Court Ladies Pinning Their Hair with Flowers, which is on a handscroll, depicts several of these elite women and an attendant. Their elegant clothing and the shine of it “suggest that cloaks and shawls made from silk-netted sheer gauze were de rigueur at the time of the painting’s production.” ¹ This painting also shows what their outfits may have looked like, and the difference between the elite women and the attendant serving them. They all have overskirts that allow their underskirts to peek out slightly, and the elite women are wearing garments with elaborate patterns. Their gauze shawls are also lightly dyed and have a very subtle design as well. The attendant’s clothing, however, is plainer than the others, and she is depicted smaller in the foreground. This painting gives us insight into social stratification in Tang China as well. The attendant being portrayed as smaller and less focused on her shows that she was deemed unimportant, but still vital to the elite women being depicted. She was an important part of their lives, but not enough to be depicted with the same care and devotion to detail as the other women.

Another popular style for women was hufu dress, which was made up of “composed of robes, such as the kaftan or tunic, a belt, trousers, boots and hats” ². It was very simple, and this simplicity lent itself well to outdoor activity. However, as this was a foreign fashion style from Persia, and typically for men, it was looked down on for women to wear. While Court Ladies Pinning Their Hair With Flowers was classical Tang clothing for women, hufu was “a type of Tang fashion, which inspired women to push the boundaries of the Tang female identity” ³. In the mural in the tomb of Princess Yongtai, there is a depiction of this style on elite women, though this was not an elite-only fashion. This embrace of hufu also allowed women to play polo as well, which is seen in ceramic figurines from the Tang Dynasty. ⁴ This also shows that Persian culture had a large impact on the style of the Tang Dynasty. The fact that the stylw was persistant and popular enough to be in a mural in a princess’s tomb shows that it was very prolific.

Gupta India

In Gupta India there were many textiles of importance that were commonly worn. These textiles were divided into 4 classes, and according to Chandra Moti, they were called “According to Amarasimha… ‘Valka’ (made from bark fibres)… ‘Phala’ (made from fibrous fruits) … ‘Kauseya’ (silk) and Rankkava (made from the hair of a goat).” ⁵ Phala is also inclusive of cotton and similar plants. These textiles were woven on looms and made into clothing for people of all statuses. Women especially were “draped in sari and chadar [and] also wore a vaikaksya.” ⁶ A sari is defined as a garment worn by South-East Asian women, made up of several yards of loose cloth. It is draped in such a way that one end forms a skirt while the other acts as a head and shoulder covering. ⁷ The chadar is most akin to a shawl, and a vaikaksya is a garland worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm ⁸. Tunics were also common in this time period. Chinese silk was one of the most sought after items to create garments, as it was described as being “made from very smooth silk yarn” ⁹ and was typically dyed red. This directly connects the Gupta Empire with China of the same time period, establishing silk trade, though there is also documentation of Chinese travelers in Gupta India as well. There is also a description of Indian soldiers carrying Chinese cuirasses, further establishing this connection. Chinese cuirasses are typically described as body armor that has been fastened together, or can also be thought of as a corset of sorts.

In terms of women of high status, Moti goes on to describe the robes women wore had beautiful patterns and states that “a divine woman is represented as wearing a dazzling muslin robe embroidered with hundreds of diverse flowers and birds and gently rippled by the motion of the breeze.” ¹⁰ Women also dressed for the weather, having many silken outfits to fit. In summer, lighter saris were common, while in spring they were in saris with breastbands. In Northern India the clothing was similar in that the clothing was rarely sewn. Women “wore a long robe which covered both of their shoulders and fell down loose.” ¹¹. There is not very much detail about their costume other than this, leading to much speculation on what the women of North India properly wore.

From the small information we have on women in the Gupta empire, we can tell much about their costume. First, we know that if a woman was high class, due to divine women being described wearing such things, she likely would have a very intricately decorated sari. We can also glean that silk was the most common textile to wear for women, second being cotton due to its lightweight and breathability in the hot weather. Women also typically had the clothing decorated with natural designs, such as flowers and birds. This is supported by the depiction described in Moti’s book, and the intricate designs can be seen on items such as the mirror handle pictured here. While this mirror handle is small, we can observe there is a focus on detailing around her garments and there is a high level of care taken to present these details.

Byzantine Empire

In the Byzantine Empire, clothing for higher-class women was a complex topic. There was much debate due to the intense mixing of cultures on what a woman should wear. There was the desire for her to be attractive, of course, but there was also the intense need for women to cover up to subvert men’s desires. By the 4th and 5th centuries, “women, especially upper-class women, often wore an outer tunic with ample sleeves, sometimes long, sometimes short, over an under tunic, with long, narrow sleeves” ⁸. This narrow sleeve was often a topic of debate amongst religious leaders, believing that the showing of a woman’s form was inherently sowing desire. This was added to by the belt that women would wear to cinch the top, underneath their breasts. This was also a stark reminder of women’s sexuality, but also of motherhood, which creates the very core of Byzantine women’s identities.

As for the makeup of these garments, there is evidence that upper-class women’s clothing was made with silk. A common decoration on these garments was also roundels, suggesting trade and influence from Persian culture. Roundels are circular designs that often depict a human form in the center or some story that would have been recognizable at the time. These were also very popular in Persia. Tragically, early pieces of silk and textiles were rarely preserved, but “The fragments that have managed to be preserved are often high quality—brightly colored, silk, fine linen, or wool, perhaps using precious metal threads, skewing our view toward the dress of the wealthy” ⁹. Overall, Silk was important to elites across the European and Asian continents, its versatility being a key factor in its far travels. ⁸: Ball, Jennifer. Byzantine Dress: A Guide. Taylor & Francis, 2024. ⁹: Ball, Jennifer. Byzantine Dress: A Guide. Taylor & Francis, 2024.

Bibliography Link[^link1] [^link1]: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11VB-pOOUSEymjDvkWmbAbbe6fbIgkEbmJU6x9BLTqeU/edit?tab=t.0