Roman

Culture and Clothing

M.Voc. Fashion Design (1st Semester)

About Rome
The civilization of ancient Rome spanned more than a thousand years, from the
traditional founding of the walled city in the mid-8th century BCE to the final collapse of
the western part of the empire in 476 CE. Until the 3rd century BCE the Romans derived
their culture from the Greeks and the Etruscans but after this gradually began to develop
their own civilization and to expand their influence, taking over territory after
territory—first that of the Etruscans, then Sicily, Carthage and North Africa, Greece, and
Egypt. They went on to found the great Roman Empire, which by the 2nd century CE
extended from Spain to the Black Sea and from Britain to Egypt.
Roman
Civilization
 Status was evidently all-important in Rome. Given that clothes were a simple
way of expression such status, it is little surprise that rich families had slaves
trained as tailors (vestiario, paenularii).

Trade guilds existed for the professional tailors, dyers and fullers, indicating that
there existed a substantial industry.

Textile
The fullers of course are famed for their large earthenware bowls which they
kept at their gates into which citizens caught short could relieve themselves.

and Dyes The gesture was of course not entirely selfless. Fullers were dependant on the
ammonia they gathered from urine as a natural detergent.

Of the greatest importance when considering the dying of textiles was of course
Tyrian purple. Tyrian purple dye was one of the most costly commodities
available in the ancient world.

The dye was gained from the glandular fluids of certain types of sea snails in the
eastern Mediterranean, known collectively as murex snails.
Most Roman clothes were made from wool, which was spun
and woven by hand at home or in a workshop. In towns and
cities, Romans took their woolen cloth to the fuller’s workshop
to be cleaned and treated before it was made into clothes.

First, the cloth was stiffened by soaking it in urine, and then it

was cleaned by rubbing it with a kind of clay. After this, the
cloth was beaten, stretched, and bleached.

Fullers also cleaned and mended clothes for the richer people.
Sometimes the Romans had clothes made from linen, which
came from Egypt. The wealthiest wore clothes made of cotton
from India and silk from China.
Roman Period Men’s Clothing
The toga was probably the most significant
item in the ancient Roman wardrobe, worn
predominantly by men, and known as the the
national garment of Rome.
The basic item of dress for both genders during
Roman times was the tunic, made of two
pieces of undyed wool sewn together at the
sides and shoulders. It usually had very short
sleeves, covering hardly half of the upper arm.
Men had theirs belted so that the garment just
covered the knees.
The main types of toga were:
● Toga Virilis: This was as a plain, unadorned
toga made in off-white color. It was worn by
any adult male.
● Toga Praetexta: This was an off-white toga
with a broad purple border. This toga was
reserved for Senators and Curule Magistrates
such as Consuls.
● Toga Pulla: This toga was a dark toga
reserved strictly for times of mourning.
● Toga Candida: This was an artificially
whitened toga worn by candidates for political
office.
● Toga Picta: This was a special all purple toga
embroidered with gold thread worn by a
Roman general during a triumphal parade.
Roman Women’s Clothing
Originally, both men and women wore togas. Stolas were made of linen, cotton or wool and
There were two types of toga for women, generally had no sleeves.
similar to tunics worn by Greek women: peplos
Over the stola, citizen-women often wore the palla,
and chiton.
a sort of rectangular shawl up to 11 feet long, and
Peplos were made from two rectangular pieces five wide.
of cloth partially sewn together on both sides
It could be worn as a coat, or draped over the left
with the open sections at the top folded down
shoulder, under the right arm, and then over the left
in the front and back. It was pulled over the
arm.
head and fastened with two large pins, forming
a sleeveless dress. A belt was then tied over or
under the folds.
The Tunic
The tunic was the most basic garment worn by the Romans. It was the
standard dress in Ancient Rome, although it was sometimes used as an
undergarment, for most Romans and slaves that was the only thing they would
put on before going outside.
Production and Cleaning of Garments
In the early Republic, women spun the fleece into thread and wove the cloth in the home,
and doubtless many women of the less wealthy classes continued this practice throughout
the history of Rome.

By the late Republic, however, upper-class Roman women did not spin and weave
themselves (unless, like Livia, they were trying to demonstrate how traditional and upright
they were). Instead, slaves did the work within the household or cloth was purchased
commercially, and well-to-do Romans could also buy cloth made of linen, cotton, or silk.
There were many businesses associated with textiles besides spinning and weaving,
including operations such as dyeing (fibers were usually dyed before being spun into
thread), processing, and cleaning. Garments were cleaned by fullers (fullones) using
chemicals such as sulfur and especially human urine
Undergarments
We do not know a great deal about Roman underclothes, but there is evidence that both
men and women wore a simple, wrapped loincloth (subligar or subligaculum, meaning
“little binding underneath”) at least some of the time; male laborers wore the subligar when
working.

Upper-class men may have worn it only when exercising.

Women wore a band of cloth or leather to support the breasts (strophium or mamillare).
Both these undergarments can be seen on the woman athlete at the left, from a
fourth-century CE mosaic; she holds a palm branch signifying that she has been victorious
in a contest.
Footwears
Sandals (soleae, sandalia) with
open toes were the proper
footwear for wearing indoors.

Shoes (calcei), which encased

the foot and covered the toes,
were considered appropriate for
outdoors and were always worn
with the toga;
Thank You !