section_path: Daily life/Clothing
section_name: Clothing
paragraph_text: Clothing
  
  Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. Popular Byzantine dress remained attached to its classical Greek roots, with most changes and different styles being evident only in the upper strata of Byzantine society, however, always with the influence of the Hellenic environment. The Byzantines preferred colour and pattern, and made and exported very richly patterned cloth, especially Byzantine silk, woven and embroidered for the upper classes, and resist-dyed and printed for the lower. A different border or trimming round the edges was very common, and many single stripes down the body or around the upper arm are seen, often denoting class or rank.