EVOLUTION OF ROMAN

CLOTHING
Survey Of Apparel Design
Presentation by:
Anmol Jain
Aditya Sharma
Vipin Khushwaha
Vishal Kashyap
Shashi Paswan
General Background
• Roman clothing has always struck a particular chord with people throughout history
wanting to re-live this or the other aspect of those ancient times. Dressing up in a
toga has recurred over and over again from the times of Shakespeare's plays
through to the antics of Toga parties and Cinema productions such as Cleopatra, Ben
Hur and The Gladiator.
• The earliest Romans wore animal hides and skins tied around the waist. It is unclear
exactly when these were exchanged for the more evolved dress code and fashions
we generally think of as "Roman clothing". One thing is certain however: by-and-
large, the clothing worn from the time of Romulus and Remus through to the end of
the Empire was originally inspired by their Etruscan neighbours. For example the
Etruscan round cloak is a good candidate for the Roman toga.
The fabrics in Roman clothing
• The weight and texture of Roman fabrics ensured the characteristic folds would
form into graceful curves and stay put without slipping over each other.
• The fabric itself was hand woven on looms and would have been relatively soft to
the touch. Stripes and other adornment would have been woven into the fabric
itself.
• Undergarments such as loin cloths, tunics and so on could be made of a variety of
fabrics.
• Wool, the most commonly used fibre, was most likely the first material to be
spun.
• Silk and cotton were imported, from China and India respectively. Silk was rare
and expensive; a luxury afforded only to the rich.
Fashion and Taste of Roman Clothing
• The Etruscan influence on Roman dress codes remained particularly
noticeable in the roman priesthood which being generally conservative in
habits left its fashions unchanged since the earliest times.

• Social rank and Tradition were important elements of Roman fashion and
taste for both men and women. Persons who had important positions of
state or religion would be allowed variations in order to signify their
standing. For example, men of high rank could wear the Toga Praetexta.
• However this doesn't mean that fashion and individual taste were
blotted out, especially as the well-being of the Empire made the austerity
of the early Kingdom and Republican periods a distant memory.

• As for women there was lack of freedom, but again, riches and well-being
brought a strong degree of emancipation. Hairdos and jewellry were the
freest and greatest expression of fashion for women and as such reached
a great deal of evolution and complexity. The cosmetics industry also
flourished as can be seen from the number of richly decorated beauty
cases which have been found.
 What clothes did men wear in Roman times?
• Men wore a knee-length tunic (chilton),
either sleeveless or short-sleeved. Roman
men wore a cloak over their tunic, which was
like a wide shawl that was draped over the
shoulder and carefully wrapped around the
body.
• Men of the equestrian class were entitled to
wear a tunic with narrow stripes, in the
colour the Romans called purple but was
more like a deep crimson, extending from
shoulder to hem, while broad stripes
distinguished the tunics of men of the
senatorial class.
• 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. They were even told which colour of toga they
had to wear:
• A plain white toga was worn by all adult male citizens.
• An off-white toga with a purple border was worn by magistrates and upper class boys.
• A toga made of dark coloured wool was worn after someone had died.
• A bleached toga was worn by politicians.
• A purple toga with gold embroidery was worn by a victorious general and later by emperors.
• In later times it became more acceptable to wear togas of different colours with embroidery but this
was frowned on by those who preferred to keep to the established order.
What clothes did women wear in Roman times?
• As the tribune pointed out, high-class Roman women
did not have the same distinctions of clothing that
immediately marked out the status of their male
counterparts; in fact the only certain distinction of
dress allowed to women was the stola, which
indicated a woman's marital status, not her social class
or wealth. In addition, except for minor variations of
color or fabric, women's clothing styles were relatively
simple and unchanging, so they had to emphasize
elaborate hairstyles and jewellry in order to stand out
from other women.

• Similar to Roman men, the basic item of clothing was

the tunic (tunica), though women's tunics were fuller
and longer, usually extending to the feet. There were
two basic styles of tunic, both similar to tunics worn by
Greek women.
• The peplos was made from two rectangular pieces of cloth
partially sewn together on both sides; the open sections at
the top were then folded down in the front and back. The
woman pulled this garment over her head and fastened it at
her shoulders with two large pins, forming a sleeveless dress;
she then tied a belt over or under the folds.
• The more common sleeved tunic worn by women was similar to
the Greek chiton. Two wide pieces of cloth were sewn together
almost to the top, leaving just enough room for armholes. The
woman pulled this garment over her head and used several pins or
buttons to fasten it at intervals over her shoulders and arms,
forming a dress with sleeves which could be belted under the
breasts, at the waist, or at the hips. The length of the sleeves was
determined by the width of the cloth. Tunics could be brightly
coloured or made of lightweight fabrics such as linen or silk.
• At the time of her marriage, the Roman woman donned the stola, a
long, sleeveless tunic, frequently if not always suspended at the
shoulders from short straps, which was worn on top of another tunic. It
is probable that the stola was typically made of undyed wool. The stola
was a symbol of marriage, and by the late Republic all women married
according to Roman law were entitled to wear it. Wearing the stola was
a way for a woman to publicly proclaim her respectability and
adherence to tradition.
• Respectable women also wore a long cloak, called a palla, over their
tunic and stola when they went outside. This was rectangular in shape
and was typically draped over the left shoulder, under the right arm
and back across the body, carried by the left arm or thrown back again
over the left shoulder. The palla could also be pulled up to cover the
head, as shown in the above statue of Livia or in this depiction of a
matron whose elegantly draped palla has a fringe.
What clothes did children wear in Roman times?
• It is fair to assume that children, especially those not borne
to rich families spent their time in simple, belted tunics.
• Children wore an amulet called the bulla. Boys would wear it
until reaching their manhood, usually around the age of
sixteen. Girls would wear it until they married.
 JEWELLERY:
• Fashionable upper-class women wore considerable
amounts of jewellery.
• One design that persisted from a very early period to
late antiquity was the fibula, a pin whose basic design
resembled our safety pin. It was a useful clothing
fastener and was often beautifully decorated, as is the
case with this Etruscan gold fibula depicting a cat
stalking two unsuspecting birds.
• Since Roman clothing was frequently pinned rather than
sewn, many fasteners were beautifully decorated; this
gold pin has an amethyst cameo with a female bust, and
the large garnet in this pin has an winged Victory intaglio
carving.
• Gold bracelets were often fashioned in the form of
snakes and rings often had relief carvings.
 Footwear:
• Roman footwear showed little distinction between male and female. One
usually wore sandals tied round the ankle with thin strips of leather.
• There were three main types of footwear:
• The calcei were the standard outdoor footwear for a Roman and formed
part of the national dress with the toga. It was a soft leather shoe, generally
speaking a cross between a shoe and a sandal.
• Sandals (soleae, crepidae or sandalia) were generally regarded as indoor
footwear. It was as improper to be seen in public wearing sandals outdoors
as it was to visit your host's banquet in anything other. Hence a wealthy
Roman would have a slave accompany him to a banquet, to carry his
sandals, where he would change into them.
• The third general type of footwear was a pair of slippers (socci), which
were also meant for indoor use.
• There were of course other types of footwear. The pero was a simple piece
of leather wrapped around the foot, the caliga was the hob-nailed military
boot/sandal and the sculponea was a wooden clog, worn only by poor
peasants and slaves.
Influence on modern fashion
• The trend of fashion takes a
backward turn into antiquity, and
is seen on the runways and
fashion events. International
designers collections are being
tailored embracing the patterns of
ancient roman clothing. Modern
clothing is a reflection of the
ancient roman attires and a
combination of both. The
simplicity in the costumes of
ancient Romans is now succeeded
by the exclusive pageantry of the
current days fashion designers.
• The ancient Roman tunic has taken a new form in the
present days culture. This is the most familiar costume being
adopted by the modern fashion. The wrapped style of
ancient garment has now taken a new form of men's outfit.
Long tunics, and shawl draperies fastened to girdles richly
embroidered and fringed is a model for the modern tunic.
• Ting Ting Hu wore this dress at the
46th Golden Horse Red Carpet
event having a Roman influence
relating to the togas worn, maybe
even more so to the palla toga
since that was the darker colored
toga worn by those in mourning.
Once again it has the Roman
drapery and softness and the
circular cut at the bottom.
• This dress was shown at the
Croaporter fashion shown on
March 24, 2010. This dress has
the Etruscan look that the
Romans adopted (tebenna to
toga). This is because of how
it drapes and the semi-circle
cut it has. This is a
Roman/Etruscan influenced
dress
• The skirt/wrap looks just as the
subligaria looked as the Roman
wore them. And it would be
wore as the undergarment, but
here, being modern, it is worn as
outerwear.
• Vera Wang's Roman-inspired collection
• Togas were successfully reimagined as asymmetrical silk day
dresses or a limpid jersey tunics.
Roman Dresses Today
• There is still evidence today of
women wearing Roman dress.
Such evidence like
the Stola are being
showcased on the red carpet.
Jaslene Gonzalez, Megan Fox,
Katie Holmes, and Kiera
Knightly are some celebrities
who have displayed the
Roman clothing but have
altering the clothing to give it
a more modern day twist but
leaving the some key
elements to Roman fashion
style.
• Redolent with rich earthy tones,
the Spring collection from Donna
Karan, presented Friday at New
York Fashion Week, married flowy
1970s womanhood with Roman-
inspired influences.
• Composed of army green, sandy
shades, and batik-like patterns,
Karan's loose, toga-style dresses
were given structure by skinny
belts, metal-ring details, and
gladiator sandals.
• Another connection of of
modern day Roman clothing
would be the footwear. Though
Romans sometimes did not
wear sandalis or solea at
all.Mostly all are made of
leather and display many straps
and at different lengths
reaching to as high as the knee.
• The difference is probably the
type of fabric, but both pieces
are worn over the main piece
of garment. The below
particular garment is similar to
the modern day shawl women
use for a wrap along side the
body as well except shorter
and light weight fabric.
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