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It was a piece of cloth, worn by women like a loin-cloth. It wasn't a regular under-garment though. It was worn for exercising in, by the upper classes (m/f). But women also as well as a subligar wore a strophium around their chest, so as to support their breasts.
Male labourers would wear them regularly.
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What did Roman gladiaters wear?
"Dress for a Roman often, if not primarily, signified rank, status, office, or authority. . . . The dress worn by the participants in an official scene had legal connotations. . . . The hierarchic, symbolic use of dress as a uniform or costume is part of Rome's legacy to Western civilization." (Larissa Bouffant. "Introduction." The World of Roman Costume. Ed. Judith Lynn Sebesta and Larissa Bouffant. University of Wisconsin Press, 1994. Pp. 5-6)I. Clothing and Status: Ancient Rome was very much a "face-to-face" society (actually more of an "in your face" society), and public display and recognition of status were an essential part of having status. Much of Roman clothing was designed to reveal the social status of its wearer, particularly for freeborn men. In typical Roman fashion, the more distinguished the wearer, the more his dress was distinctively marked, while the dress of the lowest classes was often not marked at all. In the above diagram, for example, we can deduce that the first man on the left is a Roman citizen (because he wears a toga) but is not an equestrian or senator (because he has no stripes on his tunic). We know that the woman is married because she wears a stola. Colored shoes and the broad stripes on his tunic identify the next man as a senator, while the border on his toga indicates that he has held at least one curule office. The laurel wreath on the head of the next man and his special robes indicate that he is an emperor, while the uniform and cloak of the following man identify him as a general. It is more difficult to determine the exact social status of the two men on the right; their hitched-up tunics indicate that they are lowercase working men, but the two lowest social classes in Rome (freed people and slaves) did not have distinctive clothing that clearly indicated their status. These men could both be freed people (or citizens at work, for that matter); however, the man in the brown tunic is carrying tools and the other man is lighting his way, so we can deduce that the man in the white tunic may be a slave of the other man.Augustus and later emperors emphasized the interaction of dress, social status, and public display when they required official dress at public performances and regulated public seating in the theaters and amphitheaters of Rome. A prominent section was reserved for the male and female members of the imperial family and the 6 Vestal Virgins; the first rows were reserved for senators, the next for male equestrians, the next for male citizens (with women of all classes relegated to the top rows of this section), and the top "standing room only" tiers for the lowest classes. Performers and spectators at these events would thus see a striking visual display of the different status groups in the form of blocks of color created by the different types of togas (the modern film Gladiator recreated this effect in the computer-assisted simulation of the Colosseum).II. Production and Cleaning of Garments: Typically, Roman garments were made of wool. In the early Republic, women spun the fleece into thread and wove the cloth in the home, and doubtless many women of the less wealthy classes continued this practice throughout the history of Rome. By the late Republic, however, upper-class Roman women did not spin and weave themselves (unless, like Livia, they were trying to demonstrate how traditional and upright they were). Instead, slaves did the work within the household or cloth was purchased commercially, and well-to-do Romans could also buy cloth made of linen, cotton, or silk. There were many businesses associated with textiles besides spinning and weaving, including operations such as dyeing (fibers were usually dyed before being spun into thread), processing, and cleaning. Garments were cleaned by fullers (fullones) using chemicals such as sulfur and especially human urine.III. Undergarments: We do not know a great deal about Roman underclothes, but there is evidence that both men and women wore a simple, wrapped loincloth (subligar or subligaculum, meaning "little binding underneath") at least some of the time; male laborers wore the subligar when working, but upper-class men may have worn it only when exercising. Women also sometimes wore a band of cloth or leather to support the breasts (strophium or mamillare). Both these undergarments can be seen on the woman athlete at the left, from a fourth-century CE mosaic; she holds a palm branch signifying that she has been victorious in a contest. (see another scene from this mosaic and an ancient pair of leather "bikini" pants found in Roman Britain.)IV. Footwear: Sandals (soleae, sandalia) with open toes were the proper footwear for wearing indoors. There were many different designs, from the practical (as shown in this model or this foot of a statue) to elegant (as shown in this actual leather woman's thong-style sandal with a gold ornament). Shoes (calcei), which encased the foot and covered the toes, were considered appropriate for outdoors and were always worn with the toga; when visiting, upper-class Romans removed their shoes at the door and slipped on the sandals that had been carried by their slaves. There were many different styles of shoes, and some leather versions have survived, like these shoes (ancient leather shoes on top and modern reconstructions below) and this simple workman's shoe. There were no dramatic gender differences in Roman footwear (unlike the high heels worn by women today), though upper-class males (equestrians, patricians, and senators) wore distinctive shoes that marked their status; the patrician shoes, for example, were red.V. Men's Clothing:THE TUNIC basic tunic(tunica) equestrian tunic(tunica angusticlavia) senatorial tunic(tunica laticlavia)The basic item of male dress was the tunic, made of two pieces of undyed wool sewn together at the sides and shoulders and belted in such a way that the garment just covered the knees. Openings for the arms were left at the top of the garment, creating an effect of short sleeves when the tunic was belted; since tunics were usually not cut in a T-shape, this left extra material to drape under the arm, as can be clearly seen in this statue of a first-century CE orator in tunic and toga. Men of the equestrian class were entitled to wear a tunic with narrow stripes, in the color 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. Most ancient statues do not show these stripes, but this wall painting from a lararium in Pompeii depicts both the tunica laticlavia and toga praetexta. As can be seen in the drawing at the top of this page, working men and slaves wore the same type of tunic, usually made of a coarser, darker wool, and they frequently hitched the tunic higher over their belts for freer movement. Sometimes their tunics also left one shoulder uncovered, as depicted in this mosaic of a man named Frucius (whose narrow stripes indicate equestrian rank) being attended by two slaves, Myro and Victor. Slaves were not inevitably dressed in poor clothing, however; Junius, the young kitchen slave depicted in this mosaic, wears a more elegant tunic and a gold neckchain, and the skeleton of a woman was recently found in an area near Pompeii with a quantity of gold jewelry, including a serpent bracelet engraved DOM[I]NUS ANCILLAE SUAE, "from the master to his slave girl." THE TOGAThe toga was the national garment of Rome; in the Aeneid,Virgil has the god Jupiter characterize the Romans as "masters of the earth, the race that wears the toga" (1.282). Only male citizens were allowed to wear the toga. It was made of a large woolen cloth cut with both straight and rounded edges; it was not sewn or pinned but rather draped carefully over the body on top of the tunic. Over time, the size and manner of draping the toga became more elaborate; compare this bronze statue from the beginning of the first century BCE with this statue of a Roman senator or this statue of the emperor Augustus, which clearly illustrate the toga as worn during the late Republic and first centuries of the Empire. As shown in the drawing at left, the cloth was folded lengthwise and partly pleated at the fold, which was then draped over the left side of the body, over the left shoulder, under the right arm, and back up over the left arm and shoulder. It was held in place partly by the weight of the material and partly by keeping the left arm pressed against the body. The large overfold in the front of the body was called a sinus, and part of the material under this was pulled up and draped over the sinus to form the umbo. The back of the toga was pulled over the head for religious ceremonies, as in this statue of Augustus as chief priest (pontifex maximus). It was difficult to put the toga on properly by oneself, and prominent Romans had slaves who were specially trained to perform this function. Togas were costly, heavy, and cumbersome to wear; the wearer looked dignified and stately but would have found it difficult to do anything very active. Citizens were supposed to wear togas for all public occasions (here, for example, is a man being married in a toga), but by the beginning of the Empire Augustus had to require citizens to wear the toga in the Forum. This fresco from a building outside Pompeii is a rare painted depiction of Roman men wearing togae praetextae participating in a religious ceremony, probably the Compitalia; the dark crimson (Roman purple) color of their toga borders can clearly be seen.The color of the toga was significant, marking differences in age and status:toga virilis also called toga pura: unadorned toga in the off-white color of the undyed wool that was worn by adult male citizenstoga praetexta: off-white toga with a broad purple border shown in the right-hand drawing. The only adults allowed to wear this toga were curule magistrates (curule aedile and above).toga pulla: toga made of dark-colored wool worn during periods of mourningtoga candida: artificially whitened toga worn by candidates for political officetoga picta: purple toga embroidered with gold thread worn by a victorious general during a triumphal parade and later adopted by emperors for state occasions. A variant of this costume was the toga purpura, an all-purple toga worn by the early kings and possibly adopted by some emperorsMale children of the upper classes also had distinctive dress for formal occasions. All freeborn citizen boys were entitled to wear a bulla (see below). On formal occasions, boys also wore the toga praetexta, possibly over a striped tunic; in theory all freeborn citizen boys could wear this garment, but because of its expense it generally indicated that the wearer belonged to the upper class (see these boys on the Ara Pacis and this statue of the future emperor Nero wearing a bulla and an elaborately draped toga). At the age of 14-16, boys laid aside the bordered toga during their coming-of-age ceremony (usually celebrated on the feast of the Liberalia, March 17) and ceremonially donned the toga virilis.Although women had apparently worn togas in the early years of Rome, by the middle of the Republican era the only women who wore togas were common prostitutes. Unlike men, therefore, women had an item of clothing that symbolized lack of (or loss of) respectability-the toga. While the toga was a mark of honor for a man, it was a mark of disgrace for a woman. Prostitutes of the lowest class, the street-walker variety, were compelled to wear a plain toga made of coarse wool to announce their profession, and there is some evidence that women convicted of adultery might have been forced to wear "the prostitute's toga" as a badge of shame.Jewelry: Propriety demanded that adult male citizens wear only one item of jewelry, a personalized signet ring that was used to make an impression in sealing wax in order to authorize documents. Originally made of iron, these signet rings later came to be made of gold, like the ring at left, whose carnelian sealstone depicts a tragic actor holding a mask (see this large bronze signet ring from Herculaneum with the letters of the owner's name in reverse, for stamping on wax: M[arci] PILI PRIMIG[genii] GRANIANI.). The reverse lettering on this gold signet ring from the third century CE says CORINTHIA VIVAT, "may Corinthia live" or "long live Corinthia." Other rings with a practical function were actually keys (see also this bronze ring with a more elaborate key), perhaps to the gentleman's strongbox. Literary evidence indicates that some Roman men ignored propriety and wore numerous rings as well as brooches to pin their Greek-style cloaks (like this silver pin with symbols of victory-a winged goddess with an eagle, laurel crown, and palm branch). Before the age of manhood, Roman boys wore a bulla, a neckchain and round pouch containing protective amulets (usually phallic symbols), and the bulla of an upper-class boy would be made of gold. See this terra-cotta statue of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and wearing a bulla, and this statue of a proud mother pointing to her son in his toga and bulla (the facial features and hairstyles indicate that this statue probably represents Agrippina the Younger and her son Nero). Boys sometimes wore small gold rings carved with a phallus for good luckHairstyles:During the middle and late Republic and into the early Empire, Roman men wore their hair short and were clean shaven, even though the process of shaving was uncomfortable and frequently resulted in cuts and scratches. Emperors, however, became style setters. The emperor Nero (54-68 CE) affected a more elaborate hairstyle with curls framing his face and later added sideburns, which can also be seen on his coins. Hadrian (117-138 CE) was the first emperor to adopt a short beard, and many men, no doubt grateful to escape the ordeal of shaving, followed his example. After his reign, in fact, beards became quite common among Roman men.Continue with Roman Clothing, Part II for information on women's clothing, hairstyles, and jewelry.
How has fashion changed over years?
Fashion Through the YearsClothes haven't always been about fashion, in fact people used to wear clothes just for warmth! That goes way back to the time of the cavemen. Nobody knows exactly when the cavemen lived, or exactly how they dressed but people have an idea. Cavemen didn't wear much, or sometimes nothing at all, but when they did wear clothes, it was of animals they caught. They probably wore tiger skin, or other animals that have been on this world before humans evolved into civilized beings. Later humans started to add some fashion to their style, and this slowly evolved into a trend. Soon nobody was caught dead without clothes.Romans were around 40 AD-420 AD. What Romans wore was a lot like what the people of Greece wore. They couldn't sew as well as we can now because their needles were brittle, and weak. Togas were an easy solution to the problem. Togas are like a cloth rapped up around you, most were made of wool, but people with more money wore them made from linen. They couldn't use buttons either because you need to sew them on. This is why they used a lot of broaches and clasps. Not unlike nowadays they had different kinds of underwear; an example would be boxers to subligar, or briefs to sinctus. Women wore a cloth for underwear, tied at each side. Undergarments were made from linen. The best kinds of linen were Spanish, Syrian, and Egyptian. The tunic was usually the main outfit in Roman times. Men would wear their tunic to their knees, and their sleeves would be cut short. Women wore their tunics oppositely; they wore their pants, and sleeves long. It was very feminine to wear your tunic sleeves long, and it took men 3 centuries before they started wearing their sleeves long too. Some times it got really cold, and then Romans would wear 2 to 3 tunics. The first layer was called subucula, which would be worn tight, like a vest. The second layer was called the intusium. Emperor Augustus was known to wear 4 layers of tunics during winter. Tunics changed slightly depending on who you were. A senator would wear his tunic with a purple line going down the center; an equestrian would wear his tunic with 2 purple lines going down it. A very high-class person would wear their tunic bright with embroidered leaves. They would only wear this for very special occasions. Only true Romans could wear a toga, a foreigner could not wear a toga in public. At first a toga was worn on the naked body, but then Romans started wearing their tunics under their togas. Women's dressing was a lot less strict then men ware. Women wore dresses that were called stogas. Women started out wearing their stogas white, but this didn't stay for long, and soon they started wearing stogas of all colors. Children's dressing was a lot simpler. They just wore simple belted togas. Children wore amulets called bulla. Boys would stop wearing their bullas at age 16, but girls kept theirs on until they were married.All we know about Egyptians is from the many paintings they drew on their walls. Egypt was very hot, so they probably wore very revealing clothes. According to the paintings they wore lots of linen clothes. Children of Egypt usually went around completely naked; they did this until age 6. Men usually wore a loincloth. Females wore straight dresses with one or two straps. Both men and women wore make-up and jewelry to honor the gods.In the 1100s wool became very popular for all classes because it was very warm. A little bit later a new French fashion called the bliaut became the trend. A bliaut looks a little bit like what priests used to wear. A white robe that looks a little bit like a dress. Both men and women wore bliauts. At first bliauts fit moderately around its owner, but later it became a fad to wear your bliauts tight! Men in the 1100s wore undergarments called brais. This was also French. Men wore pants called hose. Hose was actually two separate pieces. One for each leg. There were all different kinds of hose, but striped were the most popular. Hose started out loose, and better fitting, and just like bliauts the style changed to tight. Hose was usually worn to the knees, and were wide enough to fit drawers in them. The upper-class men usually didn't wear hats. Female clothing was a lot less complicated. A female everyday outfit would consist of an under tunic, a tunic, and a wimple. Married women would braid their hair, and wear a veil. Long hair was a huge fashion, some were so desperate that they'd purchase hair from the dead, and would wear it. A wimple was a linen cloth that covered the neck, and often the chin too.In the 1200s men wore tunics over linen shirts. There were more choices of tunics to choose from now. You could have one with dots, or red stripes, or pretty much anything else. Over that men wore a cyclas, which was a sleeveless shirt. Men also wore mantles, which were formal wraps. Women of the 1200s wore a loosely fitted gown, with long tight sleeves. Richer women wore more embroidery, mantles, and fur. Individuality was expressed through hair, and headdresses in the 1200s. A very common style was the barbette. This style was that the hat, or headdress has a strap that goes under the neck of its owner.Most people in the middle ages wore wool, and undergarments made form linen. Wealthy people wore bright colors, better materials, and longer jackets. Near the end of the middle ages wealthy men wore hose, and jackets. Women wore flowing dresses, and crazy headwear such as heart, or butterfly themed, or even tall steeple caps, and Italian turbans! Holy orders wore long woolen habits. Different orders had different color habits. For example; the Benedict wore black, and the Cistercians wore un-dyed wool, or white. Clothing started to become very strict, even The Poor Clare Sisters had to petition the Pope in order to be able to wear white wool socks. Peasant men wore stockings, or tunics. Peasant women wore long sleeveless dresses, and covered their hair with wimples. In winter they'd wear sheepskin, wool, mittens, and cloaks. They covered their boots in wooden patens to keep their feet dry. Men and Women clothes were almost never washed, but undergarments were washed regularly. Rich women wore a lot of jewelry.Fashion in the 1600s started becoming a little bit freer, and the western look came in style. Men started wearing leather boots, and leather cowboy hats, but the hose was still in style. Men's linen shirts had deep cuffs. A crazy new fashion was a ruff like collar. Large beards and mustaches were very popular in the 1600s; those were called Van Dykes. Gowns were popular, but people stopped wearing them in 1620s. Fashionable men wore capes, and cloaks. Hair was worn collar length and was brushed back. The hairstyles kept changing, and by the 1630s loose long curls were in fashion. In 1610s flat shoes became popular, soon people transformed the flat shoe into the low heels. Children dressed exactly like mini adults. Females started wearing dull plain dresses.In the 1800s women dresses were tight around the torso. Women had about 4 outfits each, and they had different dresses for different times of the day. Morning dresses were worn inside the house. The morning dress was high necked, long sleeved, and was very plain. The evening dress, which was worn out of the house, was very decorative with lace, ribbons, and netting. They are usually cut low with short sleeves. For women the hairstyle was up in a bun, and curled in front in 1825. Married women continued to wear mobcaps, which now had wider brims to cover their ears. No women would leave the house without a hat, or bonnet. Men's fashion ended with the lace, and embroidery. Breeches became longer, and men started to adopt black coats with tail, and plain pants. Shirts were still made from linen, and top hats started to become popular. Wigs started to become very popular especially big ones; of course this led to the big white wigs fad. Girls still dressed a lot like their mom, though their dresses were a lot simpler. Finally in the late 1800s women started to work, therefore they started to wear suits, and then they started wearing pants.In 1910, women started to wear big hats instead of big wigs, long cloaks with big pants, and long wide scarves. For business outfits, women wore black vests, with black skirts. In the 1920s a hat called the cloche hat came into style, it is hard to describe the shape of the cloche hat in a few words, because it has so many different kinds of cloches. However, the basic description of it is that it is a very snug-fit hat that was usually worn tilted, it covered the forehead but it still let people see. The hair was often cut short and styled flat to fit under these types of hats. The flapper dress also came out in the 1920s; it was kind of loose and round. 1920s weren't just the flapper, and the cloches though, this is also when people where introduced to more casual clothing, and started to wear pants more often. Men started to wear stuffed trousers, and two-toned white and tan, or white and black shoes for casual events. They'd wear black-patented leather shoes for formal occasions, though the lace up shoe was starting to become wieldly popular for men. Men and boys both wore short knee pants called knickers. They wore knickers with their sweaters. One of the most famous thing about the 1920s is the baby attire. It was a lot more practical, instead of frilly laced dresses, and other formal baby attire the 20s had much more comfortable outfits such as rompers, and short dresses. For older girls dress was different as well. They usually wore cotton frocks, cardigan, sweaters, and canvas shoes or sandals.In the 1930s the fashion was a lot like a prom dress. It was tight, showing off a female's most feminine features, such as the hips, with a big lowcut V done the back. The hair was also very big, a little bit like an afro. Some of the outfits were based on business suits yet they were party dresses. For formal occasions men started wearing more masculine pants, and suits, and the alternative was a sweater and knickers. In the 1930s female bathing suits were very revealing like the ones we ware today. Women started wearing sailor style hats, and men started wearing berrets, and top hats.In the 1940s a shift in fashion arrived. The war was over so people started changing into fashions that resembled the dead warrior who fought in that war. So for special occasions if a man had fought in a war he'd wear his uniform, and his wife would wear a simple office skirt suit. When the war was going on people there were limited supplys of things they could wear, mostly just cotton, so as you can imagine their clothes were very unfashoinable, and were just meant to cover up the body. As I said before there wasn't much to choose form but there was this group called Incorporated Society of Fashion Designers that probably made the best clothes of the 1940s out of the little supply of materials to make clothes with. It was really important to know how to knit because it gets really cold and you need to have scarves, and blankets for cheap. Clogs were also very popular because leather was expesive but wood was not. For formal occasions men usually wore a shirt with a V shape in front.In the 1950-1957 formal dressing was still "in" but after that the rules of dressing was more relaxed. Teenagers everywhere started to buy their own clothes now that the war was over, and they could afford it. Black, and leather were also very popoular, some girls would go to dances dressed fully in black. Preppie clothes, and the pinafore dress was also in style at the time. The bully cotton skirt was also a cute fad but was usually not aloud at school, so it slowly died away.In the 1960s more things were considered "in" or "not in" by the richest, or most popular teenagers. Some people didn't follow the crowd. The 1950s was majorly space themed which made people ware "space fashion".In the 1970s it was more about individuality then fitting in. People would ware whatever they thought was "awesome" or "cool". Of course individuality led to hippies, hippies usually wore ripped jeans, ti-dye shirts, or other crazy things. Men usually wore a white suit, bell bottoms, jeans, pantsuits, and t-shirts. There were also goths, and punks. Punks would usually wear black leather boots, and leather jackets, or goths would usually ware black cothes sometimes they'd even paint their face white, wore black eye shadow and dark lipstick.In modern times it's a lot like the 1970s we all just dress in our own individual ways. Although some trends are starting to come back, like the 80's look (pants with skirt) If I had to make a prediction of how we will dress someday I'd say we'll probably dress like we used to in the 80s, still more individual but grouped.
