ELLANE MAY TANADA

The Romans - Clothing

Roman clothes were made of wool, spun into
cloth by the women of the family. Later on the
richer people had slaves to do this work for
them. If you could afford to buy clothes, you
could buy linen, cotton or silk, which was
brought to Rome from other parts of the
Empire. Washing clothes was difficult
because the Romans did not have washing
machines or soap powder. They used either a
chemical called sulphur or urine.






Class Differences

Roman dress differed from one class to another. The
tunic was worn by plebians (common people), herdsmen
and slaves was made from a coarse dark material. The
tunic worn by patricians was made from white wool or
linen. Magistrates wore the tunic augusticlavia, and
senators wore a tunic with broad strips, tunica laticlavia.
Military tunics were shorter than those worn by civilians.

The Toga

Only male citizens of Rome were allowed to wear togas. They
were made out of wool and were very large. The material was
not sewn or pinned but was draped around the body and over
one arm. Togas were very expensive because of the large
amount of material needed to make them and very heavy. It
was the law that all citizens wore togas for public events.

A plain white toga was worn by all adult male citizens
Toga praetextata- an off-white toga with a purple border was
worn by magistrates and upper class boys
Toga Pulla- Aatoga made of dark coloured wool was worn
after someone had died
Toga picta or tToga palmata, with a gold border, used by
generals in their triumphs





Trabea - toga entirely in purple, worn by statues of
deities and emperors
Saffron toga - worn by augurs and priestesses, white
with a purple band, also worn by consuls on public
festivals and equites during a transvectio
A bleached toga was worn by politicians
A purple toga with gold embroidery was worn by a
victorious general and later by emperors
The Tunic

The Romans switched to comfortable tunics, which looked
like long tee-shirts.
Tunics were made of cool linen, for summer wear, and warm
wool, for winter wear.
The tunic was standard dress for all men from slaves to the
nobles. It could be worn plain, belted at the waist or under a
cloak. Citizens of Rome would wear a tunic under their toga.
Sometimes, they worn trouser like garments.
The simplest and cheapest tunics were made by sewing two
pieces of wool together to make a tube with holes for the arms.
For those that could afford it tunics could be made of linen or
even silk. The tunic would be worn belted at the waist and just
covering the knees.


Chiton- more common tunic worn by women usually a knee-length
- tunic same as men.
This sleeved garment was made from two wide pieces of cloth
sewn together near the top. A belt could be worn under the breasts,
at the waist, or at the hips. Any tunics could be made of various
colors and fabric types depending on social status and wealth.

Stola- which was a full length from neck to ankle, high- waisted and
fastened at the shoulders with clasps.

Palla- a sort of shawl made of an oblong piece of material that could
be worn as a coat, with or without hood, or draped over the left
shoulder, under the right arm, and then over the left arm.

Hats were not worn except by slaves but women were expected to
cover their heads when walking outdoors.





Married women were required to wear the loose, toga
equivelant, stola. This long sleeveless tunic was strapped at the
shoulder, gathered in and girdled at the waist with the
garment extending to the feet. In addition, the pulla was a sort
of shawl to throw over the whole figure, and to be worn out of
doors.



Footwear
Indoors, the Romans wore open-toed sandals. However,
outdoors they preferred to wear shoes that covered their toes.
The Romans made shoes and sandals by fixing strips of leather
to a tough leather or cork base. Sandals, to be worn indoors or
in the summer, had a smaller number of leather strips. Shoes
for walking, for winter or for soldiers had many more leather
strips to cover the toes and provide more warmth.