![]() ![]() ![]() In literature and poetry, Romans were the gens togata ("togate race"), descended from a tough, virile, intrinsically noble peasantry of hard-working, toga-wearing men and women. The seating arrangements at theatres and games enforced this idealised social order, with varying degrees of success. In tradition and law, an individual's place in the citizen-hierarchy – or outside it – should be immediately evident in their clothing. Even the lowest grade of citizenship carried certain privileges denied to non-citizens, such as the right to vote for representation in government. Roman society was graded into several citizen and non-citizen classes and ranks, ruled by a powerful minority of wealthy, landowning citizen-aristocrats. The fastenings and brooches used to secure garments such as cloaks provided further opportunities for personal embellishment and display. Clean, bright clothing was a mark of respectability and status among all social classes. Not all dyes were costly, however, and most Romans wore colourful clothing. Exotic fabrics were available, at a price silk damasks, translucent gauzes, cloth of gold, and intricate embroideries and vivid, expensive dyes such as saffron yellow or Tyrian purple. ![]() None were particularly successful, as the same wealthy elite had an appetite for luxurious and fashionable clothing. Rome's governing elite produced laws designed to limit public displays of personal wealth and luxury. Relative to the overall basic cost of living, even simple clothing was expensive, and was recycled many times down the social scale. The manufacture and trade of clothing and the supply of its raw materials made an important contribution to the Roman economy. Wealthy matrons, including Augustus' wife Livia, might show their traditionalist values by producing home-spun clothing, but most men and women who could afford it bought their clothing from specialist artisans. Spinning and weaving were thought virtuous, frugal occupations for Roman women of all classes. Most clothing was simple in structure and basic form, and its production required minimal cutting and tailoring, but all was produced by hand and every process required skill, knowledge and time. Most urban Romans wore shoes, slippers, boots or sandals of various types in the countryside, some wore clogs. In colder parts of the empire, full length trousers were worn. It was usually made of linen, and was augmented as necessary with underwear, or with various kinds of cold-or-wet weather wear, such as knee-breeches for men, and cloaks, coats and hats. The toga was considered Rome's " national costume," privileged to Roman citizens but for day-to-day activities most Romans preferred more casual, practical and comfortable clothing the tunic, in various forms, was the basic garment for all classes, both sexes and most occupations. This was especially apparent in the distinctive, privileged official dress of magistrates, priesthoods and the military. Clothing, footwear and accoutrements identified gender, status, rank and social class. On formal occasions, adult male citizens could wear a woolen toga, draped over their tunic, and married citizen women wore a woolen mantle, known as a palla, over a stola, a simple, long-sleeved, voluminous garment that modestly hung to cover the feet. Statue of the Emperor Tiberius showing a draped toga of the 1st century ADĬlothing in ancient Rome generally comprised a short-sleeved or sleeveless, knee-length tunic for men and boys, and a longer, usually sleeved tunic for women and girls. ![]()
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