When did people start wearing clothes and what did these garments look like? According to archaeologists, in the most ancient times, clothes were made from grass, leaves, animal skins, and other natural materials. The first garments are believed to have been created between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.

With the adoption of agriculture, humans began cultivating plants for fabric production. Linen was preferred during warm seasons, while in cold, harsh winter months, ancient people wore wool and animal skins for protection. To add color to their clothes, they used various dyes and paints. Yellow and red colors came from yellow and red ochre (clay), black pigment from graphite and charcoal, and blue and green colorants from minerals like azurite and malachite. They also extracted dyes from various plants.

During the Neolithic period (6th millennium BCE), as permanent settlements emerged and agriculture and animal husbandry developed, families began weaving their own clothing. It is thought that weaving and spinning were typically women's responsibilities within the family. They worked with wooden spindles and looms to create textiles. Our knowledge of ancient clothing comes indirectly from clay anthropomorphic (human-shaped) figurines, some of which are decorated with elements that likely represent local clothing designs.

During the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age – 5th millennium BCE), ornaments became widespread, including strands of beads made from small stones or animal teeth, often with amulets strung onto necklaces. Clay figurines from this period feature diverse decorative motifs such as lines and spirals. Women typically wore long-sleeved shirts, sometimes with ornamented vests over them. Below the waist, they wore colorful belts securing skirts or trousers that reached below the knees. Footwear varied – socks or boots in colder weather and light leather sandals in summer. People embellished their clothing with various decorative elements, including gold, bone, and copper appliqués, as well as seashell beads.

Anthropomorphic art found along the Danube River provides our main source of information about Bronze Age clothing (3rd – 2nd millennium BCE). These artifacts depict female figures wearing full-length garments with long sleeves. Women cinched their waists with textile or leather belts, often embellished with metal appliqués, plates, and buttons. A decorative band wrapped multiple times around the waist and adorned with metal pendants is also commonly depicted. Clay figurines from the 2nd millennium BCE found along the Danube River are especially interesting for their depictions of richly ornamented clothing. These garments featured characteristic motifs that likely represent embroidery, including circles, hanging triangles, and spirals. Women complemented their outfits with various types of jewelry, particularly for the head and neck. They braided their hair, often interweaving metal spiral pendants, and sometimes wore hats and hair diadems. On their arms, they wore large spiral bracelets.

Did men wear jewelry during the Bronze Age? And what did their clothing look like? The typical male outfit consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and trousers. Men wore belts over their shirts, likely used for attaching weapons, arrow quivers, and other practical items. During colder months, they probably wore cloaks secured to their clothing with pins, and later with fibulae (similar to modern safety pins). Bronze Age men wore spiral decorations in their hair and metal bracelets on their arms. Various appliqués and pendants were likely sewn onto their clothing.