Adult's Greek Goddess Costume (SizeLarge 11 13)

I have worked in the past as a theatrical dresser, costume mistress, and costume designer. At present, I work in a shop that is dedicated to magic, novelties and costumes. With all that studying of costumes, I am a snob about all things relating to costumes. This costume surprised me when it came in. The name of the costume is The Greek Goddess Costume. While not as luxuriously made as one would want from standard evening wear, at about $35 it is an excellent value. While better made than most Halloween costumes, I wouldn't expect to get more than 3 or 4 wearings out of this before it would start to show age. Still, for this sort of style, I suspect one wouldn't wear a better made dress more than that anyway. To get that length of wear out of it, I would opt for dry cleaning.

To begin with, this costume actually takes its inspiration from the traditional dress of Ancient Greece. The most common clothing during the Archaic period of Ancient Greece was the chiton. The chiton was worn by both men and women of Ancient Greece from the Archaic through the Hellenic period. There are two forms - the Doric and the Ionic Chiton.


The Doric chiton consisted of a single rectangle of woolen fabric with an over-fold called an apotygma. It would be draped and fastened at the shoulder by pins (fibulae). The Ionic chiton, on the other hand, was made from linen and would be draped without the fold. It was held in place at the shoulder by several small pins. This costume is a dress that pulls over the head as a single piece. The back attaches to the front at the shoulder by metal loops imitating the fibulae of the Doric style. The fabric here is nylon. It is heavy enough to flow.

A large belt, called the zoster could be worn over the chiton, usually under the breast ("high-girdled") or around the waist ("low-girdled"). The chiton's length was greater than the height of the wearer, so excessive fabric was pulled above the belt, like a blouse. There is a thin line of decoration in this costume, but it is well fitted at the waist to give the feel of a low girdled chiton.


Along with the chiton was a cloak called a himation that was sometimes worn. When the chiton was worn without the himation, the chiton was called a monochiton. A long chiton which reached the heels was called a chiton poderes. There was also a longer version that dragged the ground and was called a chiton syrtos. A woman's chiton would always be worn at ankle length. This costume matches the chiton in length. The shoulder drape clearly takes its look from the himation of the traditional Greek dress.


This dress is an adult size costume and says it will fit from sizes 14 to 24. Because it has a plunging neckline, you may want to wear this with a camisole or a modesty panel. Depending on the bra style you wear, you may also want a modesty panel to hide that. In order to accomodate such a wide range of sizes, the fabric does have a fair amount of stretch to it. Even so, if you are in the smaller size end of this dress, you may need to pin portions or take a dart in to make it fit properly.


The costume does come with a crown of plastic laurel leaves. This certainly adds to the Greek feeling, but I'd toss the crown in favor of a tiara or a crown made from the leaves of a silk plant.


I am particularly fond of the blue and white color scheme which is reminiscent to me of the Greek flag, or of the ocean waters and white marble that I associate with my time in Greece.


I liked this dress. It's comfortable, attractive and a good value. I've had nothing but good response from customers who purchased it and am happy to steer folks to it.