During my teen years, my father was fond of reciting passages of Latin at the dinner table.
My brothers and I would exchange pained glances as these recitations dragged on
for longer than we could stomach. None of us understood a word Daddy was reciting
unless he chose to translate, which was seldom. I never shared my father’s love for the language of the Romans. In fact, Latin was the only subject I
failed in school. My father has been deceased for a decade now, but he would be
tickled pink if he could see this post.
The
Roman civilization existed for about twelve centuries, beginning in the 8th
century BC., so for simplicity’s sake, I’ll limit this discussion to clothes worn during the time of the Roman Empire - from 27 BC when Octavian adopted the title of Augustus to the end of
the empire in 461 AD. Some historians argue the Empire ended in 476, but for our purposes, that difference of a few years doesn't matter.
 |
| Statue of Roman woman, British Museum |
Artifacts, art and written records give us a clear
picture of what people of the Roman Empire wore. With the exception of the
toga, Roman clothes were basically Grecian in style and made of wool, silk or
cotton.
Women’s Attire
Women of Rome wore a garment called a stola, which was two rectangular pieces of cloth joined at the side by fibulae (brooches) and buttons. They also sometimes wore a kind of shawl called a palla. An oblong piece of fabric, the palla was worn as a coat with part of it draped over the head to form a hood when needed.
Men’s
Attire
Until the 2nd century
BC, both men and women wore togas. After that togas were worn only by men. Though
they were all pretty much the same in design, there was a marked difference
between one toga and another as any Roman could tell at a glance. If you were
rich, your toga would have been thin, natural color wool. If you were poor, it
would have been in a coarse material, or even thin felt. Colors also determined
the station of a man, and even what language he spoke. Remember, Roman citizens were from many countries. On the right is the Emperor Tiberius in a draped toga of 1st century
AD.
Underwear
& Athletic Wear
The tunic was the staple
undergarment for both men and women. Not to be confused with the tunics of
later years, the Roman tunica was a
rectangular piece of cloth sewn into a tubular shape and pinned around the
shoulders. A strophium (breast cloth) was also worn by women for athletics along with a subligaculum which
covered the loins. The subligaculum was also worn by men and there were two styles – a simple loincloth which
farmers wore, and a garment looking much like shorts, which was worn by soldiers,
gladiators and athletes. | |
| Female athletes wearing a subligaculum and a strophium |
Outerwear
& Footwear
Leather
was used for footwear and belts. It was also used for the coats of Roman soldiers who were often on duty in countries with colder climates.
 |
| Germanic fibulae, early 5th century AD |
I
can quite understand why my father had such an interest in ancient Rome. Rome’s language,
religion, philosophy, architecture, law and government were adopted by the
territories it governed, particularly Europe and Britain. They in turn, influenced
the entire western world and beyond, an influence that remains until this day. You see it in things as seemingly insignificant as the “Roman” sandals that keep coming back into style. The
expression “Si fueris
Romae, Romano vivito more” (When in Rome, do as the Romans do) is
still in common usage two thousand years after the fall of an empire, which at its height, stretched from Italy to Asia Minor, Greece, North
Africa, Europe and Britain.
Note: “When in Rome do as the Romans do” is attributed
to Saint Ambrose (340–
397) who was an archbishop
of Milan
Image sources: Wikimedia, historyforkids.org, bbc.co.uk
