How to Dress Like a Greek Goddess - Vintage Style

The still-elegant and fashionable classic Greek goddess dress style can be described as fluid, swathe, and elegant. Its fluidity makes it respond to every movement of the female body. It is a swathe because it gently and loosely wraps around the body. And suave as in stylish, feminine, smooth, gracious in a casually sophisticated ethereal look.

Greek Goddess dress designs. Notice the apparel style of the Greek statue.


Traditionally, Grecian dresses of ancient Greece were primarily made of two long swathes of soft cotton fabrics draped around the body. Each piece served different functions as one was an undergarment, a chiton or peplos, and the other served as a cloak called a himation or chlamys.

Although its form and silhouette today differ from the ancient styles, dresses fashioned after the Greek Goddess attires remain timeless and body-flattering. They come in styles ranging from casual to formal and simply elegant.


8 Ways to Dress Greek Goddess Style


A mythical goddess-inspired dress is a sleeveless piece of clothing that cascades gently to the floor. What differs is the way the neck-cuts shape out. There are a few shape variations – the V-neck, small round, and the wide-off-shoulder cuts. Dresses are majorly worn at ankle length but can also come as mini and mid-calf lengths.

Elegant Greek woman in traditional Greek-inspired attire.


Because every woman’s sense of style differs, today’s version of the Grecian clothing design comes in different variations. However, the basic silhouette of a simple draping effect remains the same. It all boils down to how creative you are. Bold and daring or modest and understated.

Basically, the traditional design consisted of a Chiton or rectangular cloth like a wide shawl draped around the body. It can be wrapped and twisted in several ways, held in place at the shoulders with a large statement brooch. Some other characteristics typical of the style are:

Fabrics
Soft light, breezy and sometimes sheer fabrics like silk, soft wool, chiffon, organza, satin, cotton, and linen.

Colours
Traditionally pure white, modern Grecian dress styles come in black, light colours, soft pastels, off-white, and champagne. There are also white and gold or white and silver combinations.

Patterns
It is uncommon to find overtly patterned fabrics made into Grecian-style dresses. Traditionally, patterns varied with the times and status of the wearer.

Detailing
For a sophisticated look, the main piece can come with gold or silver thread detailing and the fabric sashes trimmed with ornate gold or silver rope works. A thick rope sash can replace the fabric sash as long as it holds the main dress’s folds firmly at the waist.

Style
The dress forms of Greek mythological goddesses had longer flowing gowns, unlike the shorter versions you’ll find on the statues and in images of the mystic gods of Greece. However, both forms were bound with wide sashes at the midriff. Other features include:
  • Asymmetrical hemlines.
  • Sleeveless and strapless pieces.
  • Cap sleeves for women who prefer to have some sleeves.

Head Piece
Although we associate the Greek dress look with headbands, the style can be accessorized with or without headdresses. With this vintage-inspired couture, you don’t need to go head-to-toe goddess look. You do not need to appear as if you stepped out of a Greek mythology fable. It is best to go with a dramatic head style.

Hair Style
Add a classic hairstyle to your fashion ensemble. French plaits, Dutch braids, and fishtail braiding are great hairstyles that enhance Grecian Goddess-style outfits. These pretty hairstyles have been around for centuries and are mentioned in art history documents from the Early Greek, Celtic, and Sung dynasties.

French braid hairstyle. 

Footwear
In ancient Greece, sandals may have been the most common type of footwear, but for today’s modern trends, you do not have to wear them with your dresses and gowns. It is good to note that clunky heavy-looking shoes are not the best footwear for this look. If you don’t want to wear sandal-like footwear, open shoes like stiletto heels slip-on with simple embellishments are the best to glam up your outfit.

Further Reading
How to Dress Like a 1950s Woman 
How to Dress Like A Silver Screen Goddess
How to Dress Vintage Chic Style In Everyday Clothes

If you prefer girly styles, pretty colours, frills, trimmings, and voluminous layers, then the Greek goddess style is not for you. Its timeless look, fragility, breeziness, and ethereal feel, inspired by the ancient Greek style, is definitely not for every woman.

How to Dress Like the Stylish 1950s Woman

Fashion for women was at its height in the mid-20th century. It was a time when women couldn’t wait to look good once again and certainly went all out to bring back style into their lives.




For fashion houses and fabric manufacturers, it was a great welcome back from the austere times of the 1940s brought on by the effects of the 2nd World War. During the war times, fabrics meant for fashionable clothing was in limited supplies, as was food and other things taken for granted in the pre-war years. Because everything was influenced by rationing, women apparel was made from fewer yardages of cloth, into simple outfits using as little threads and materials as possible.

Once the war was over, there was increased availability of beautiful fabrics in vast quantities which allowed a new type of fashion to blossom by the 1950s. The good times were back again!



The Fashionable Woman of the ’50s


Stylish and well-groomed women emerged again, and this new fashion era was soon to be described as the ‘epitome of style’.




Looking good and dressing elegantly was soon the norm, and women invested in looking stylish. Every young lady was brought up to recognise and appreciate style.

1950's women fashion was the tailored silhouette, elegant cuts that always made women look sophisticated and stylish. Styles include:
  • Full skirted dresses
  • Full swing skirts
  • Pencil skirts
  • Sleeveless blouses
  • Long-sleeved blouses
  • Tailored pants suits
Ensembles were incomplete without the long coats, hand gloves, shoes, day hats, and neck jewellery like a string of faux or real pearls.


How to Replicate the 1950's Woman's Style Above





The designs of the 1950s clothes required a shapely figure with the curves in the right places . . .  showing distinct hip lines and distinguishable busts. 

But though the styles look best when a woman's waist is small, for those who weren't naturally endowed with a close to the perfect figure, girdles, waist cinchers and general body-shapers provided the desired hourglass shape required of most mid-20th-century fashion.