Greetings and welcome to Earth Cloth, a blog celebrating the loincloth.
Loincloths are commonly used as an undergarment, swimwear, worn during festivals and exercising or as an everyday garment. Usually made from a single piece of material, loincloths are simple, comfortable and fun to wear. There are many styles of loincloths and they vary from culture to culture. Check out some differrent styles of loincloths below.
Loincloths are commonly used as an undergarment, swimwear, worn during festivals and exercising or as an everyday garment. Usually made from a single piece of material, loincloths are simple, comfortable and fun to wear. There are many styles of loincloths and they vary from culture to culture. Check out some differrent styles of loincloths below.
Rokushaku: is a length of cloth, the dimensions being one shaku (34 cm / 14 inches) wide and six shaku (2.3 m / 92 to 96 inches) long; roku is Japanese for six, hence roku-shaku. The fundoshi is often twisted to create a thong effect at the back. It was also the standard bathing suit. Children learning to swim during the early 1960s were often told to wear this kind of fundoshi because if in trouble, they could be easily lifted out of the water by the fundoshi.
Ecchu (etchu): is a length of cloth, however it has a strip of material at the waist to form a fastening or string. The dimensions are 14 inches width by about 40 inches length, and it is tied with the material strip in front of the body. One ties the tapes around the hips, with the cloth at the small of the back, and then pulls the cloth between the legs and through the belt, letting the remainder hang as an apron. Such fundoshi were issued to Japanese troops in World War II.
Mokko (literally meaning “earth-basket loincloth”): is made like the Etchu-fundoshi but without a front apron; the cloth is secured to the belt to make a bikini effect. The dimension around about 14 inches width by about 28 inches length.
Kuroneko (literally meaning “black cat fundoshi”): is like the mokko-fundoshi except that the portion that passes from front to back is tailored to create a thong effect.
Breechcloth: is a form of loincloth consisting of a strip of rectangular fabric passed between the thighs and held up in front and behind by a belt or string. In Native American tribes, men used to wear some form of breech cloth, often with leggings. Styles differed from tribe to tribe. Women could wear breech cloths but only underneath a skirt, not as outerwear.
Langot or kaupinam: is a traditional style of Indian loincloth. It is manly used when exercising, training or during kushti, traditional Indian wrestling. This loincloth is first put between the legs and then wrapped around the waist very tightly.
Subligaculum: a form of undergarment worn by ancient Romans.
Malo: a traditional Hawaiian loincloth.
Maxtla: a Mexican loincloth.