What were their clothing in the ancient Rome?

Answer 1

Adult Roman male citizens wore an undyed woollen toga (the toga virilis), which was off-white. This was a woollen cloth of perhaps 20 ft. (6 m) in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. Men of distinction wore the toga preatexta or the trabea. The latter had horizontal purple stripes. Originally it was worn by the kings of early Rome. Later it was worn by young equites (equestrians, cavalrymen) during a parade of men of this rank (the transvectio equitum). The equites were the second highest social rank in Rome. There was a purple and saffron striped trabea was worn by the augurs, the priests who performed augury (divination of the omens of the gods). The toga purpura was an all purple trabea which was first worn by Julius Caesar and later by the emperors in ceremonial occasions.

• There was also the toga preatexta. It was also off-white but it had a purple border. It was worn by: · Freeborn children prior to puberty. Originally the right to war this toga was reserved to the sons of patricians (aristocrats). Then it was extended to all freeborn boys as a sign of 'free birth.' Boys stopped wearing the toga praetexta and assumed the toga virilis on the coming of puberty, from the age of 14 to the age of 17. The first wearing of the toga virilis was part of the celebrations on reaching maturity which involved a procession form the Forum to the Capitoline hill. This wearing of the toga virilis was called tirocinium fori, which was an introduction and training for public life. During the Second Punic War the right to war this toga was also extended to the sons of freedmen, provided that their mother was a patrician. It is known that girls also wore the toga preatexta, but it is uncertain whether they were given this right at the same time as boys or later. They wore it until they got married, upon which, they wore the stola
• The two top magistrates (executive officers of state): the consuls and the praetor; the dictator (an extraordinary officer of state) and the aediles (junior magistrates). It is uncertain whether the other magistrates (censors and quaestors) and the plebeian tribunes also wore this toga.
• Senators and former officers of state (magistrates), but only for ceremonial occasions.
• Some priests (e.g., the Flamen Dialis, the s quindecemviri sacris faciundis, the septemviri epulonum)
• · The magistri vicorum on the day of the religious festival of the compitalia, a festival of the wards of Rome. These magistri were selected from the common citizens of the ward to preside over this festival.
• Magister Collegii, These were the presidents of a collegium or corporation. The toga pulla was a black or grey toga which was worn for mourning. The pulla preatexta also had a purple border and was worn by the man who the last rites for the deceased. Usually this was a relative.

The toga picta was purple and embroidered with gold thread. It was worn by victorious commanders in triumphal parades.

The toga candida was a toga artificially whitened with bleach. It was worn by candidates for political office.

Roman men often only wore a tunic which was also off-white. They could be made of wool or linen. The senators wore the lacticlavia, which had a broad purple strip. The equestrians wore the Angusticlavia, which had narrower purple stripes.

Roman women wore the stola: two rectangular segments of cloth joined at the side by fibulae and buttons with the garment draping freely over the front. It was fastened around the shoulders by clasps. Two belts were worm. One was below the breasts, which created peats, and the other was around the waist. Most had short sleeves, but some had long sleeves. A tunic which could have long sleeves was worn under the stola. A pallacould be won over the stola. This was a sort of shawl made of an oblong piece of material which was draped over the left shoulder, under the right arm, and then over the left arm. It could be with or without hood. The stola of richer women could be elaborate and a limbuscould be added to it. This was a piece of material with many pleats sown to the hem of the stola. It looked like another gown worn beneath the stola and created the look of many layers. This was a symbol of wealth. There were fewer restrictions on the dresses of women (by tradition men had to wear undyed togas). Whilst many stola were undyed, they could be almost of any colour. The tunics of women could be brightly coloured and made of lightweight fabrics such as linen or silk. A wide ornamental border (instita) on the lower hem of a white tunic or stola was a marker of wealth

The stola of poor women was a piece of material with holes for the head and the arms, tightened around the waist with a belt.

Roman girls were not allowed to wear the stola until they were married. They wore a simple tunic (tunica) with a belt at the waist. When they went outside, they wore a second tunic that reached their feet. They also wore a cloak, the paludamentum, as protection from the weather. It was fastened at the shoulder with a clasp, called a fibula. A head covering was often attached to it.

Roman boys wore a belted tunic which reached to the knees and had short sleeves. In the second century AD the style changed and long sleeves became acceptable. They also wore cloak which was similar to that of girls and was fastened to the shoulder in the same manner.

Boys wore the bulla and girls wore the lunula. Was a neck chain with a locket which contained amulets (usually phallic symbols) as a protection against evil spirits. It was made of lead and for the well-off, it was covered in gold. The bulla of rich people was entirely made of gold. Boys stopped wearing the bulla when they turned into adults on their being made citizens around the age of 16. The lanula was also an amulet. It was worn until the eve of the girl's marriage when it was removed and her toys were also taken away.