http://www.womeninthebible.net/3.3.Clothing_housing.htm
ITEMS OF CLOTHING
Both women and men wore a loincloth, the equivalent of underpants. This was a long thin strip of cloth which was wound around the waist and then between the legs, with the end tucked in at the waist. Women probably wore some sort of binding around their breasts.
The main garment, worn by both women and men, was the halug, a tunic. This was made of two rectangular pieces of cloth joined in a long seam along the top of the arms, with a hole left for the head to go through. It also had a seam running down both sides, with holes left for the arms.
The halug could be gathered up in a bunch at the shoulders, either with a clip or a tip-loop, or it could be tucked up at the waist if heavy work was being done. Halugs made of fine linen or wool could be draped to fall gracefully.
The halug was worn with a belt, either leather or metal, the decoration depending on the wealth of the wearer.
A cloak could be worn over the halug. The edges and fringes of the cloak were often decorated.
When women went into public places, they wrapped their long hair in a piece of cloth. This cloth held their hair in place and acted as a head covering in the hot climate. It could also be used as a face covering. Rebecca used it to hide her face when she first met Isaac (
Genesis 24:65).
Total veiling, as worn by some Islamic women today, was not practiced. Sarah's beauty was obviously visible to those around her (
Genesis 12). Rebecca was not veiled when she was drawing water from the spring (
Genesis 24:16).
Ancient people loved to decorate themselves with jewelry, which, as today, was valued for its beauty and for the status it gave to its owner. Every woman had jewelry, which was part of her personal wealth.
If it was part of her dowry, it would be worn conspicuously, especially on festival days when prospective suitors might be visiting the village.
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