Definition of "peplum"

And this was Neith, or Athena, that God thus described, "I am all that was, is, and shall be, and my peplum or veil, no mortal could ever uncover." […] Peplum is properly a womanish pall or veil, embroidered all over and consecrated to Minerva.

1837: Ralph Cudworth, D. D., The True Intellectual System of the Universe (First American Edition, with references and an account of the author by Thomas Birch, M. A. F. R. S.)

The outer garment was called the peplum, and was used more for occasions of ceremony than for ordinary convenience, as it was very long and ample, and, from the manner of putting it on, must have been inconvenient to the wearer. It was sometimes wound double round the body, […]

1838: The North American Review, volume XLVII

Over this they adopted the Greek peplum, under the name of palla. This garment, however, was exclusively confined to the gentler sex, and was never worn, as was the peplum among the Greeks, by men.

1904, G. Woolliscroft Rhead, The Treatment of Drapery in Art

[…] there were hastily produced B movies, such as the peplums, the spaghetti westerns, the detective stories, the horrors.

2006, Pierluigi on Cinema

While it does offer a lighter tone than most peplums, and spotlights a hero who relies more on his wits than his biceps […]

2013, Bryan Senn, The Most Dangerous Cinema: People Hunting People on Film