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It can be assumed that the first humans used animal pelts to make foot and legwear. The most important thing was the usefulness of clothing - protection from the weather and injuries. Until the Bronze Age, pieces of fur or leather tied together with bands were probably used to protect the feet.

Leather and fur clothing worn by Germanic people in the Stone Age.

Besides the "foot rags", there is evidence of leg-wraps made of thick wool cloth beginning in the Bronze Age. These foot "wraps" were held by the leather thongs or straw bands, which crisscrossed over the rags up to knees. Even sewn leather stockings seem to have emerged early on.

Germanic clothing in the early Bronze Age.

 

Fuß- und Beinbekleidung in der Antike

While the people of middle and western Europe still lived in the Stone Age, the Greeks had already began working with metal, which they learned from the Orient, where metalwork was known since the third century BC. Since handcrafting and trade emerged in southeastern Europe and in the Mediterranean countries much earlier than in other areas of Europe, clothing developed much quicker here, too - so much that the countries of the ancient high cultures were the leaders in fashion for over 1,000 years.

In Greece and in Rome, specialized craftsmen produced textiles and robes while the remaining cultures in Europe were still producing these themselves.

With the downfall of Greek culture, Rome - which had conquered almost all countries on the Mediterranean Sea - followed in the footsteps of Greece regarding fashion.

Traditional Greek clothing.

 

The "romanization" of the provinces during the times of the Roman Empire led to an alignment of Roman and provincial traditional wear. In this time, the pants which Romans previously considered barbaric slowly became acceptable. The Roman soldiers were the first to wear knee-breeches, which were shorter and tighter than those of the Germanic people, instead of leg-wraps.

Roman captain and a Germanic. While the Roman is shown wearing the classic ancient robe with a skirt-like tunic, the Germanic is shown wearing knee-breeches.

In the third century AD, Roman fashion slowly began embracing pants. Though the Emperors Honorius and Arkadius attempted to forbid pants in the late 4th century, they did not succeed.

In the third and fourth centuries AD, Roman soldiers took over the German knee-breeches.

After Constantinople became the new capital of the eastern Roman Empire, new Byzantine fashion impulses surfaced.

We can find knee-breeches, pants, leg-wraps and stockings held by thongs in the apparel of the warriors from the eastern Roman Empire in the 5th century AD.

While the western Roman Empire was defeated by the Barbarians, the eastern Roman Empire and its culture survived for several hundred years. Emperor Justinian (518 - 527), who re-acquired almost every area of the former Roman Empire except Gaul, triggered a Renaissance of the antique culture and traditional wear.

A Renaissance of antique traditional wear took place during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian (518 - 527). Long, robe-like clothing became a sign of Christianity.

The Byzantine culture and traditional wear received special characteristics through the Christian church, which influenced all areas of social and cultural life after it became the official state church in the 4th century AD. Not only the priests, but also laymen had to cover their bodies with long robes. The legs - if visible at all - were covered by tight pants.

Depiction of the clothing worn by Christians in the 6th century AD.

From Byzantium we know that men's "leather shoes" reach to the ankle or higher, and that there are straps attached which hold the sole in place. These are probably not shoes, but rather socks made from fine leather or wool fabrics which are worn over long, sewn stockings and covered with sandals when one went outdoors.

Depiction of Byzantine fashion in the first half of the 6th century AD. Sewn and decorated legwear seemed to be common in Byzantine clothing very early.