Monday, 23 May 2016

Roman Costume

Roman costume was more class-based than that of the Greeks and reflected the society’s formal distinctions between its own citizens and outsiders, within a highly organized system of rules. The civilian costumes of the Romans were broadly classified into two categories:
Those which were slipped over the head
Those which were wound around the body.

The wrapped garment was a Roman cloak called toga. Originally it was an outer garment for both sexes which also served as a blanket at night. The draped cloak was made of a large piece of cloth cut as a segment of a circle. Gradually the toga became extremely wide and complicated especially when used as a ceremonial garment. The elite indicated social
status through various interesting ways of slanting or crossed drapery to which bands of specific colours were added for distinction.


Women wore a tunic with the draped palla which was the equivalent to the male toga. It was a large square or rectangular piece of cloth folded lengthwise and held on each shoulder with the fibula. It could partly cover the head and partly mask the face.

No comments:

Post a Comment