Rome Didn't Dress in a Day
- AJ Koroly
- Oct 20, 2019
- 8 min read
People have been wearing clothes for a long time. Therefore, the history of fashion is a long and dense subject to dive into. Whether analyzing the ancient Romans or America in the 1980s, people have shaped their fashion to fit with the culture and era they are living in. That is one of the beautiful things about fashion; it is a representation of the values and beliefs of the people. Maybe I am getting a little too deep in my analysis, but I think it is valuable to dig deeper into the meaning behind fashion. I have mentioned hundreds of times how fashion should be comfortable on your body and your soul, i.e. reflect your personality. This is because fashion, like many aspects of culture, shapes the individual and the individual affects it. Because fashion has such a strong connection to people throughout history, I want to step into the past to view the fashion of the ancient Romans. We know how the Romans influenced western civilization, yet how did their fashion affect their life? Why did the Romans dress the way they did? Does their fashion compare to ours today? I will answer, as thoroughly as possible, these questions and many more in my historical analysis of ancient Rome’s fashion.
I love ancient Rome, so I decided to dive into the fashion world of the dominant civilization. My love with ancient Rome started with my studies of their culture and history and especially with my fascination with ancient mythology. Reading works from Virgil, Cicero, and more brought to life a civilization rich with culture. Considering the Romans’ rich literary and political culture, I assumed they would have a bountiful history of fashion, which would be fascinating to analyze. I do not just want to tell you what type of clothes they wore; I want to highlight fashion’s impact on Rome as a whole. It has been a fairly large endeavor compiling this information, but I am sure it will provide a fresh and invigorating take on fashion. We will see how fashion not only looked in ancient Rome, but also how it shaped and reflected the culture of Rome. For me, this is a great experience because I can combine history, one of my favorite subjects, with fashion. All that being said, let us step into our time machine and explore the fashion of ancient Rome.
What did they wear?
We will first start with the men of ancient Rome. We have all heard of togas and toga parties, and the toga was the main form of dress for ancient Romans at the start of their civilization. However, the tunic, due to the tunic’s ability to help preserve body temperature, replaced the toga in the later republic. The toga was still used for some special ceremonies, such as festivals or important senate meetings, but it mostly went out of daily fashion. It is important to note there were many different types of togas used to show standing in Roman society, such as the toga picta or toga palmata, which had a gold border, used by generals in their triumphs. With the class system in place in ancient Rome the upper-class citizens, patricians, tended to have more elaborate clothing then their plebian or slave counterparts. The men of Rome were also known for growing out their beards and styling their hair. We often hear of the “Caesar” hairstyle, but it seems as though most Roman men did not have such a basic cut to their hair. Footwear also was important for multiple reasons. Men wore sandals as their primary tool for walking around, and these sandals consisted of different colors and styles to display men’s position in society. For example, patricians would wear red sandals with an ornament on the back. A social etiquette existed for men limiting jewelry to one ring; however, some men did not follow this “rule.” Young boys would wear a white tunic with a crimson border that went down to their knees. The boys developed into adults around the age of 16 and 17, resulting in their switch to adult fashion. So, fashion was used to depict one’s coming of age.
Before we jump to women, it is important to analyze what Roman soldiers would wear. Many people believe the ancient Romans wore shiny armor like the knights of fairytales; however, this was not the case. Often soldiers would wear chain mail, scale armor (metal plates sewn together on a linen/leather backing), or leather armor. All three of these types of armor have little to no “shininess” to them. So, even though the ancient Romans loved ornate and glittery aspects, their armor tended not to shine. This was mostly due to the fact they would not want to stand out too much in battle. It makes sense you would want to avoid having your military gear stand out too much; it could have costly effects such as for Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Soldiers wore heavy boots, carried large shields, heavy spears, and many different types of weaponry. Romans were efficient in the sense that they had tools for their soldiers which could apply to many different scenarios. For example, they had differing swords for cavalry, close quarters, or open combat. These weapons serve as a sort of accessory to battle fashion and highlight how the Romans made a use of everything and prepared for everything. The elaborate aspect of the Roman military was shown by upper level commanders who wore capes and had plumes on their helmets. The fashion of the Roman military was more about necessity than an elaborate style, except when it came to these high-ranking officers.
Women also wore tunics, but after the 2nd century BCE, they also wore a simple garment known as a stola. A stola usually comprised two rectangular segments of cloth joined at the side by fibulae and buttons, allowing the garment to drape freely over the front of the wearer. Over the stola, women would wear a shawl like item which would be used as a coat or hood. Roman women were not permitted to wear hats, but they needed to cover their heads, hence they applied the shawl-like item. Ancient Roman women loved ornate necklaces, pins, earrings, bracelets, and rings. Jewelry was used to express wealth and status, the more you had the more prestige you had in society. When it comes to hair, women often dyed their hair. Styles would range from elaborate designs to wearing a headpiece. The most common hairstyle for women included fancy braids often interwoven with each other. For girls, they would wear simple tunics and longer tunics for trips outside. It is important to note, these descriptions apply to middle- and upper-class women. Slaves and plebeians would not have the luxury of dressing in such an elaborate way. They would be limited to wearing a simple tunic with a basic hairstyle. It is a sign of the hierarchy in Rome that some wealthy women’s wigs were made from the shaved off hair of a slave.
Overall Impact on Roman Civilization
As shown above many of the choices in fashion above were done to depict wealth and standing in society. Ancient Romans did not have the strictest segmented society, yet there was certainly a hierarchy. Therefore, people near the top, the wealthy patricians, would often wear elaborate clothes with fancy hair styles and jewelry. On the other hand, slaves and the lower plebeians would be restricted to simple items of clothing. This hierarchical design was also showcased in the military and government. People ranked higher in the military or senate would have elaborate clothing signifying their standing in society. It would certainly be a great achievement advancing in society and being able to display that to everyone. The Roman society was built on this social standing idea, so they adapted a fashion system which displayed where people ranked, whether it be in daily life or in the military.
Fashion was used to decipher between the haves and have nots in Roman society, but it also tells historians more about their society in general. The fact that the ancient Romans had so many different clothes for many occasions was a testament to how much they value alternating aspects of their lives. When you change your outfit for an event, such as a meeting with distinguished people, you are indicating the significance of this event. The ancient Romans valued their religious, governmental, and military practices so much they tailored fashion around them. I could only imagine how much work went into putting together the dress code for different ceremonies or events in ancient Rome. Nevertheless, I am grateful for all that work because it allows historians, even as amateur as myself, to breakdown military structure and social hierarchy.
Relation to Today
We have many of the same fashion practices as the ancient Romans. Like them, we have a hierarchy of dress, in the sense that the wealthy and elite, wear elaborate cloths and accessories. Just think about the top actors and actresses and the type of clothes they wear to events like the Emmys. We can also see this, somewhat, in the world where people in higher paying jobs are pressed into a tighter dress code. Despite this, we differ as people of all financial roles can play a role in starting trends in the fashion world. This type of ingenuity would not be seen in ancient Rome. However, I do believe a historian looking back on us one thousand years from now would be able to decipher our social standing based off fashion. It is crazy how something which seems so basic like fashion could have such a large impact when it comes to deciphering a civilization.
The most important thing to note is that our culture has strong ties to fashion, just like ancient Rome. Like the Romans, fashion is a representation of the views and beliefs of society. America and ancient Rome consist of many people with diverse backgrounds, resulting in multiple different fashion takes. For example, different cities will have a different manner they were their toga or jeans in. For example, people in Britannia area would mold their local fashion culture with the incoming culture of the Romans. It is powerful to view how a common piece of clothing can be adapted in different areas to showcase local values. Ancient Rome and America are not the same in fashion because, you know, innovation, but we still use fashion as a tool in our culture. Though we may be able to clean our clothes with soap today, we are wearing them to reflect our culture and place in the world.
Conclusion
I am exhausted after digging through ancient Roman history to determine what they wore. The key takeaway is there is a sort of fashion hierarchy and different dress for specific occasions in their civilization. This is a favorable relation to today’s society where we have different layers of fashion which can change based on one’s wealth, location, etc. I have studied ancient Rome a lot, but I have never taken a close look at their fashion before. I knew little things, but a full analysis was valuable. Not only was it interesting to determine what they wore, but also why they wore those things. At the end of the day, it is clear fashion and culture are collaborators in molding a civilization’s people. Whether it be ancient Rome, America, or any other place, fashion is important. Not only do we need it to cover up our sensitive areas, but it is a way to express our beliefs. I am so glad I researched this topic because I got a lot of pertinent information from it. Maybe I could analyze another civilization’s dress in the future, please let me know if this is something you would like to see. I hope you got a deeper understanding of ancient Rome from this post and how fashion can have a large impact on culture throughout history.
Websites used for research:
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