There were two main garments for a Celtic women. One was the léine (pronounced “ley-nuh”). The other was a brat (pronounced “brawt”).

The female léine was a long garment made of rectangular linen that was sewn and pinned together. It was similar to Roman “tunics” and would have been pinned closed at the shoulders and without any sleeves. A sleeved version, léinte would have had sleeves down to the wrist and worn at ankle-length. The léine would have been decorated with fringes and bright borders, made from tapestry and other needlework techniques.

A brat was a woollen cloak like garment mostly worn by women of rank. A brat was more than a source of warmth to a Celt; it was a showpiece to display their wealth and sewing skills. They were often trimmed with fancy stitching and woven in colourful patterns and fringes. The brat could be folded and draped a number of different ways and could serve as a warm blanket.

Women usually wore a woven belt but sometimes a leather one. These would have been two or three inches wide, with a narrower strap laced through evenly spaced slashes. It was held closed with a standard belt buckle. Bags and pouches could be buckled through the narrower straps.

The women would sometimes dye their eyebrows black with berry juice and reddened their cheeks using a plant called ‘Ruam’. Irish missionary monks were also known to paint or dye their eyelids black.