Fustanella have also influenced the evolution of the fustanella based on statues of Roman emperors wearing knee-length pleated skirts (in colder regions, more folds were added to provide greater warmth). Folklorist Ioanna Papantoniou considers the Celtic kilt, as viewed by the Roman legions, to have served as a prototype. Sir Arthur Evans considered the fustanella of the female peasants (worn over and above the Slavonic apron) living near the modern Bosnian-Montenegrin borders as a preserved Illyrian element among the local Slavic-speaking populations. In the Byzantine Empire, a pleated skirt known as the "podea" (Greek: ποδέα) was worn. The wearer of the
Skirt triangular loincloth whose ends were fastened with cord ties, were worn. During the Bronze Age, in the Southern parts of Western and Central Europe, wraparound dress-like garments were preferred. However, in Northern Europe, people also wore skirts and blouses. In the Middle Ages, men and women preferred dress-like garments. The lower part of men′s dresses were much shorter in length compared to those for women. They were wide cut and often pleated or gored so that horse riding became more comfortable. Even a knight's armor had a short metal skirt below the breastplate. It covered the straps attaching the upper