What clothes did the ancient Romans wear and what are its features. Rome

Unlike the Greek costume, which changed, gradually moving from complexity, stiffness and Asian variegation to noble simplicity, the development of the Roman costume went in the exact opposite direction: from a simple unpretentious form to pretentious redundancy and pompous splendor. The reason for this evolution lies in the very history of the development of Rome, its culture and the change in aesthetic ideals over time.

In the early stages of the Roman state, the aesthetic ideal of the Romans was stern warriors and majestic women. The ancient Romans appear before us as harsh, physically strong, developed, hardy people. Not the Greek cult of a beautiful athletic body, harmony of proportions, but the severity and courage of a warrior, adaptability to any conditions, rigor and simplicity - these are the main features of the ideal man of the early Republican period.

Ideally, the Romans embodied majesty, slowness and a certain static character. A figure with a rounded line of shoulders, wide hips and a flat chest was considered beautiful.

This ideal was emphasized by the complex clothes that gave the figures of the Romans majesty and static. The main fabrics for making clothes were wool and linen. The costumes combined bright colors - red, purple, brown, purple, yellow. The dress color was white.

In the early periods of the Republic, draped clothing prevailed, which emphasized the natural beauty of the human figure, partially exposing it.

The basis of the ancient Roman men's costume was tunic And toga. The tunic was an undergarment and resembled a Greek chiton. It had a rectangular cut, sewn on the shoulders and put on over the head.

The tunic was most often worn as a home dress without any additions. At first, it was sleeveless with slits for the arms, ended below the knees and tied like a chiton with a belt on the hips. For women, the tunic reached to the heels and also served as home clothes, there was also a special kind of tunic, long, tight, not pulled together by a belt, without any folds; it was worn by Roman girls on the day of majority and on the day of their wedding.

The striped tunic was the property of high officials: a tunic with a wide purple stripe (" clavus”), running from top to bottom in the middle of the chest and back, worn by senators; a tunic with one or two narrow stripes was worn by riders. There was also a triumphant tunic, decorated and embroidered with palmettes. The main color of the tunic was white, the material was wool.

Over the tunic, the Romans wore outerwear: men - toga, women - pallu(or a female toga, which was not so massive and heavy.) Only free Roman citizens could wear a toga - neither slaves nor strangers had the right to wear it. “The rulers of the world are a people dressed in togas,” the poet Virgil described the Romans in this way.

For free Roman citizens, the toga was even obligatory. Scipio was reproached for wearing Greek dress. The disenfranchised and the exiles lost the right to wear the toga.

An image of its earlier, simpler form has not come down to us.

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the ancient toga looked like a semicircular Etruscan cloak. The right end of this cloak was thrown over the right shoulder and fit snugly against it, then this end was stretched under the beard, thrown over the left shoulder and covered both hands. Sometimes the right end was thrown over the left shoulder, and the right hand remained free.

Subsequently (in all likelihood, at the end of the Republic), more matter was already used for this cloak, but still not as much as was needed for the loose pleated toga worn in later times. The method of putting on such an average toga was the same as that of the Greek himation.

A similar kind of toga, as opposed to a free toga, was called, according to Suetonius, a tight toga. A sinus with folds is already outlined on it, still short and shallow, into which the right hand was usually placed. In this position, one can imagine the Roman orators of the times of the Republic.

The toga of later times, which began to be worn from the time of Augustus, was a complex drapery of a rectangular or elliptical piece of woolen fabric measuring 5 x 3.5 m. (Some authors note that the toga was made exclusively from linen fabric). Oddly enough, there is still no complete clarity in ideas about the shape and cut of the toga. It is only known that there were several ways to drape it.

The beauty of the toga lay in its whiteness and the elegance of its drapery. This drapery was determined by tradition and approved by law. This type of toga acquired by the heyday of the Roman Empire.

It goes without saying that the toga, with its bulkiness and extreme complexity of styling, could not serve as everyday wear. Already in the II century BC. it was preserved only as festive and civilian clothing. Large size, complex canonized drapery, snow-white expensive fabric, purple stripe - a sign of class distinction - should first of all emphasize the special position of the Roman patrician, his noble origin and superiority over other members of society.

A toga with a purple border was worn by dictators, consuls, praetors, curule aediles and some priests, embroidered with gold - a person who has achieved triumph, accomplished some kind of feat.

Just as men wore the toga outside the home, Roman women wore pallu- a long cloak, sometimes reaching the ankle and usually consisting of one piece of matter larger than human height. During sacrifices, they covered the head with it or wrapped it around the body below the shoulders. Pallas either freely descended, or pressed against the body with a belt. Palla folded in half lengthwise. One half of it covered the chest, the other - the back; on the shoulders, by means of fasteners, both of these halves were connected.

The palla was put on in different ways: it could cover both shoulders, like a himation, or be fastened with a clasp on one or both shoulders, or pounce on the head and envelop the entire figure. The material was rather thin wool - purple of different shades, heliotrope, mallow (pale lilac) or yellow.

Sometimes women wore a top dress over a tunic - table, reminiscent of a tunic, but longer and wider, with more folds. If the lower tunic had sleeves, then the table was sleeveless and pulled together with a belt under the chest itself, forming a lap.

On the bottom of the table, they were necessarily sheathed with a pleated frill, sometimes representing something like a train. Appearing without a table or palla in a public place was considered indecent.

Bulky togas and pallas made it impossible to move quickly. In general, slowness in gait, impeccability of drapery, some theatricality in movements were considered the height of grace.

Already under the first emperors, men ceased to constantly wear uncomfortable and relatively expensive togas, and women stopped wearing tables and pallas.

The toga remained until late times (until the 3rd century AD) a uniform and the only decent dress at the imperial court, in theaters in the presence of the court. It also served as the client's garment in which they visited and accompanied their patrons.

Under Tiberius, the senate imposed a fine on matrons if they were seen on the street without a table, but since the time of Commodus, the toga and the table have become completely out of use, and their place was taken by the so-called dalmatic, that is, a long tunic with wide sleeves, used as an upper dress, and colobium, that is, a short tunic with short sleeves, used as an underdress.

The dalmatic was made of white wool and was decorated with two purple stripes. These clothes began to be used subsequently in the Roman Catholic Church as church vestments, adopted by the first Popes. Over time, their shape has changed a little.

To replace the toga as an absolutely necessary outerwear, the Romans used penula- a warm cloak made of thick castor, closed on all sides, with a cutout for the head in the middle, covering the body starting from the shoulders, often with a hood.

The one who put it on seemed to be braided or wrapped around. Sometimes the cloak on one side, from the bottom to half of the body, was cut so that the ends of its floor could easily be thrown over the shoulder. Later, this cloak began to be fastened on the right shoulder, like a Greek mantle.

At first, the penula was worn over a tunic or toga on the road, and in case of inclement weather - in the city itself. They made it either from coarse wool or leather.

Similar but shorter cloak - sagum- worn by soldiers. In origin, it was a Gallic riding cloak.

At the end of the Republic in the Roman men's wardrobe appeared lacerna- a cloak made of fine matter, sometimes splendidly decorated, looking like an oblong quadrangle; open in front, it was fastened under the chin and pulled together with a belt.

During the Empire, he became an ordinary outer dress of citizens and soldiers. Often this cloak was supplied with a hood, which was either sewn to it, or fastened and could be worn on the head. The hood was also attached to other cloaks, for example, to the sagumu and penula.

In the days of the Empire, they put on a special kind of clothes for dinner, called synthesis. The rich had entire wardrobes of these clothes in various colors.

With all the influence of Greek culture on the Roman one and the similarity of their costumes, the aesthetic criterion of the costume, and the idea of ​​​​the beauty of a person in Rome, were completely different than in Greece. In addition, more severe climatic conditions required relatively warm and closed clothes.

During the heyday of the Roman state, when Rome was flooded with looted valuables, luxury in clothing, food, home furnishings reached an unprecedented scale. The desire for external brilliance has captured almost all sectors of society. The high society of Rome, which was carried away by everything Greek, nevertheless differed from the Greek in a more pampered way of life, less attention to the physical fitness of the body. Walking slowly was considered good manners.

In Imperial times, men, and women even before them, began to wear gaudy dresses or uniform colors, such as scarlet, green, light green, yellow, and especially blue and purple, or (at least in the time of Pliny) patterned and checkered.

The most fashionable of the various purples was violet; the most expensive, though foul-smelling, was the bright Tyrian purple. The dress was decorated not only with stripes (clavi), which have already been mentioned, but also with checkered patterns, woven or embroidered flowers, stars, etc., fringe, and, finally, a border or borders. Jewelry abounded mainly in women's clothing.

In addition to fine wool, linens for clothing used silk, which, brought from Asia (from the Chinese), first to Greece and then to Italy, found in this latter such a reception that already in the 1st century BC. the women made their tables of pure silk.

Wall paintings in Pompeii show a wide variety of colors and patterns of Roman clothing. The venerable matron gradually turned into an elegant, richly dressed lady. The attire of men who once preferred modest clothes, mostly monochrome and white, has become more striking.

Ancient Rome, the abode of powerful rulers and brave military leaders. All the richness of ancient Roman culture could not but be reflected in the clothes of this people. There are two main stages in the development of the Roman costume: republican and imperial. The clothes of the ancient Romans of the republican stage are characterized by rigor and functionality, while the imperial, on the contrary, focuses on the attitude of the wearer to a particular class. The imperial stage represented a greater variety and splendor of attire.

The costume of the ancient Romans was not very diverse. The basic garments were the same even between the strata of the population. Both the poor and the rich wore almost the same thing. The main difference was in materials and additional decorations. The clothes of men and women were also similar, but there were several distinctive features.

Male

The first and main garment of the ancient Roman was the tunic. In those days, it was considered an undergarment, over which the main one was put on. A tunic is an item worn over the head.

There were three main types of this attire:

• Colobium;
• Talaris;
• Dalmatic.

The colobium tunic featured short sleeves and a belt included. Talaris, on the contrary, had long sleeves. This type of tunic was worn by people of high position. Dalmatic is considered the clothing of the first Roman Christians. It is a tunic with long wide sleeves, unfolded like a cross.

What other clothes did the ancient Romans have for men?

1. Toga - she was the main representative of outerwear. This is a large long cape worn over a tunic. The size of this piece of clothing was truly impressive: approximately 6 m of material by 1.8 m. The toga was a garment that personifies the national dignity of the Romans. They often called themselves "the people dressed in togas." Only true Romans, who are clean before the law, could wear a toga. Foreigners, slaves and criminals had no right to wear it;
2. Poludamentum - this type of cloak could only be worn by emperors and noble people. It was thrown over the back and fastened with a special buckle on the right shoulder;
3. Lacerna - a cloak covering the back and shoulders. It was worn for ceremonial occasions. It was attached to the front in the middle. Lacerna was made from expensive and beautiful materials and was available only to the highest nobility;
4. Penula - was considered a cloak of the lower class. It was made of wool or leather, very often supplemented with a hood. Penula was used mainly by travelers and shepherds. For the nobility, a penula made of more expensive materials was provided.

Starting from the 3rd century AD, pants came into use by the Romans. They were not very popular and were worn only by soldiers.

The attire of the military had some specific features. The soldiers wore short woolen cloaks called sagum. An obligatory element of a military suit was armor. Special protective shells consisted of two parts - front and back - connected by straps and clasps. Sometimes the hands were also protected by special devices made of metal or leather. On their feet, the soldiers wore metal leggings fastened with belts.

Legionnaires' shoes were kaligi - protected boots. Soldiers wore metal or leather helmets to protect their heads. Depending on the position of the warrior and his rank, they were decorated with carvings, as well as feathers and horsehair. Semi-Damentum lacerna Toga Penula

Female

Women's clothing in ancient Rome was similar to men's. Under the main clothes, women wore tunics. There were both sleeveless and robes with sleeves. Representatives of the nobility put on the table from above. This is a garment very similar to a tunic, however, differing in various decorations and frills. The table was an essential piece of clothing for women who were married. Appearing in public places without a table was considered bad form.

Another item of outerwear was a women's cloak - palla. It was fixed on the body with the help of fasteners in the shoulders, which were also called agraphs. Some varieties of this cloak provided for covering the head.

fabrics

For the manufacture of clothing, the Romans most often used woolen fabrics. However, some items could also be made of leather. Flax was also a very common material. Noble persons could also afford light silk robes. The famous Kos silk caused a storm of emotions among the Romans. Someone condemned the wearing of clothes made of this material, as it seemed too open. Someone, on the contrary, did not spare any money for this product. However, as soon as Chinese silk was brought to the Empire, it immediately bypassed all competitors. Despite its high cost, this material was in great demand. For a long time, due to the lack of pure silk, "semi-silk" materials were common. They were obtained by weaving threads of flax or wool into silk. Only by the 3rd century AD did the Romans have practically unlimited access to pure silk. It was from him that they began to sew clothes for noble and influential people.

Colors

The ancient Roman style of clothing included the use of bright colors: red, lilac, yellow. The color of the clothes was assigned a special meaning. In particular, red, being the personification of power, accompanied all emperors and rulers. Also, triumphal commanders wore red robes. The association of red with power is not accidental. At that time, dyeing fabric magenta was a time-consuming and difficult process. Accordingly, the wardrobe of such colors became very expensive. White was a festive color, and white clothes were worn only on rare occasions.

Ornament

The clothes of the Empire, especially those of the nobility, were often decorated with various ornaments. Mostly the leaves of plants such as oak, laurel or acanthus were depicted. Also favorite elements were ears of corn, figures of people and animals, skulls and various mythologies. Often one could notice on the clothes the image of military trophies and vases.

Along with aesthetic functions, ornamentation carried a certain meaning. The robes of antiquity hid information about the deities and spirits that the owner of the thing revered. And if at first the originality of Roman symbolism was pronounced, then the influence of the East subsequently increased.

The tunic was considered the underwear of the ancient Romans. She was necessarily worn by both men and women under the main clothes. In case of cold weather, two or more tunics were often worn one on top of the other. Women under a tunic could wear strophes - a prototype of bras. They were leather strips, the purpose of which was to support the chest from below. Bathing suits were also known to the Romans. In those days, they were strips of fabric tied around the chest and hips.

Hats

Despite the fact that the Romans adopted a lot from the Greeks, the habit of covering the head did not take root. Headwear was considered a specific attribute of priests and judges. The hood or the upper part of the toga, which was thrown over the head, saved from bad weather. If hats were worn, then they were hats similar to Greek ones. Peasants could wear hats made of straw or leather. Women covered their heads with bandages, nets or round hats. Representatives of the nobility could attach a veil to their headdress that fell over their shoulders. These headdresses are also taken from Greek culture.

Shoes

In everyday life, the Romans preferred light shoes - solea. These were sandals tied to the foot with special straps. Soleas were definitely not suitable for public outings. Because of this, other footwear has also become widespread: boots, shoes.

Going out into the world, the Roman put on half boots made of leather, which were called calceus. These shoes covered the entire foot of the wearer. The color of the shoes also mattered. The emperor could wear a red leather calceus, and a senator black. Shoes were decorated with various plaques and brooches. The lower strata of the population were content with wooden shoes, or shoes made of rough leather. Women's shoes were made of soft leather of various colors. Noble women walked in light-colored shoes, framed with pearls or stones.

In the clothes of the ancient Romans, the influence of Greek culture is very clearly visible. Much has been borrowed with little or no change, but there is also its own identity. The strong military component of the life of this people influenced what the clothes of the ancient Romans were like. The contribution to culture was made not only by the conquered territories, but also by neighboring empires.

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The ancient Roman state arose in the 8th century. BC. Initially, it was a city-state that occupied only a small part of the Apennine Peninsula (the territory of modern Rome), far from the mouth of the Tiber River. The ancestors of the ancient Romans - the Latins, who lived in Latium, located in the Tiber region, were distinguished by courage, endurance and severity.
The whole history of the Roman people, all stages of its development, were reflected in the clothes of the ancient Romans. In the distant past, the Romans were distinguished by the simplicity of manners, and their simple clothes served them only to protect them from heat or cold. It was made from the skins and wool of animals, later - from flax. Men and women wore shirts and cloaks, shoes in sandals and shoes with straps.
There are two periods in the history of the Roman state: republican and imperial. The life of the Romans in the republican period was still quite strict. The Roman costume was similar to the Greek one, it was also draped, but the aesthetic ideal of the ancient Romans was not a beautiful human body, but harsh courageous warriors and majestic women. Therefore, the complex Roman costume, which was originally made of wool, and later of linen, gave the figure a static, majestic, a certain theatricality. In the imperial period, clothes become richer and more magnificent. Imported silk fabrics appear.
During the heyday of the Roman state, its borders expanded greatly, including the territory of modern England, France, Spain, Holland and other countries. Rome became a huge world power that waged endless wars and extensive trade. The plundered wealth, the many slaves who did all the work, led to luxury even in everyday life. All this was reflected in the character of the ancient Roman costume.
The Romans dressed in clothes of bright colors: red, purple, purple, yellow, brown. A white suit was considered ceremonial, it was worn for ceremonial exits.
The Romans made clothes for women. Until the time of the empire, the Romans wore home-made clothes. Even Emperor Augustus (1st century BC) was proud that his tunic and toga were made by the hands of his mother and wife. Unlike the Greeks, who wove their clothes in one piece on a loom, Roman clothes were sewn together.

Male costume in ancient Rome

The basis of the Roman costume was the "tunic", which was considered the lower, home clothing. To appear in it on the street without outerwear was indecent for a Roman citizen. The tunic had much in common with the Greek tunic, but, unlike it, it was an overhead garment: it was sewn on the shoulders and put on over the head. The length of the tunic could be different, but basically it reached the middle of the calves. There were several types of tunics: "colobium", "talaris" and "dalmatic". The colobium had short sleeves and was belted. Talaris was worn by nobility, this tunic had long, narrow sleeves. The dalmatic was longer, with wide sleeves, which, when unfolded, resembled a cross. Therefore, the dalmatic was worn by the Christian Romans.
Tunics of representatives of various social strata depended on their nobility and wealth. Purple was a symbol of power in ancient Rome. Persons holding high public positions wore tunics with purple stripes sewn on. So, on the tunic of the senator, a wide vertical purple strip (“clavus”) was sewn, on the tunic of the riders - two narrow purple stripes. The victorious commanders wore purple tunics embroidered with golden palm branches.
Sometimes (especially during the cold season) the Romans wore several tunics at once. Emperor Augustus is known to have worn four tunics at the same time.
The most important outerwear of the ancient Romans was the "toga" - a cloak made of a large rectangular or elliptical piece of woolen fabric. The size of the toga was approximately 6 meters by 1 meter 80 centimeters, and usually the slaves draped their master in it. For the Romans, the toga was their hallmark, and they called themselves "gens togata" - "dressed in a toga." The toga was a symbol of the civic dignity of a Roman. If he committed a crime, then by law he was deprived of the right to wear these clothes. Slaves, foreigners and exiles also had no right to wear a toga. The victorious commander appeared in a purple toga woven with gold - a pict. Later, it was replaced by a purple cloak - "paludamentum", the ancestor of the mantles of European kings.
There were also other types of cloaks. Roman emperors and the highest nobility wore a "paludamentum", which was thrown over the back and left shoulder, and buckled on the right. It could also be worn wrapped several times in the form of a scarf around the left arm.
The ceremonial cloak was also a “lacerna” - a rectangular piece of fabric that covered the back and both shoulders and chipped off in front. The lacerna was made of very expensive fabric woven with gold and silver, and it reached the knees.
The poor wore a "penula" - a woolen or leather cloak in the form of a semicircle, often with a sewn-on hood. Penula was the clothing of shepherds and travelers. It was often made of dense woolen fabric with a "bouffant". Roman dandies wore a pencil case made of precious fabrics.
Pants came into use by the Romans from the III century. AD - this detail of the costume was also borrowed by them from the barbarians (before the war with the Gauls, they did not wear them). But only soldiers constantly wore them.

Women's costume in ancient Rome

The women's costume of the ancient Romans is in many ways similar to the men's. He was supposed to give monumentality and majesty to the figure of a Roman matron, to emphasize a leisurely smooth gait. It was made at first from woolen fabrics, and later, during the period of the empire, from light silk multi-colored fabrics - sometimes translucent, woven with gold and silver, which from the 2nd century. BC. began to be imported in large numbers from other countries.
Roman women were distinguished by a special passion for rich outfits and jewelry. In order to limit this passion for panache, a strict law was even issued in Rome prohibiting excessive luxury. However, this did not lead to anything: after the wars with Asia Minor, even more oriental goods and jewelry began to arrive in Rome, and the desire for luxury only intensified. If in earlier times Roman matrons dressed in white clothes, decorated with only a narrow purple border, then later they began to sew clothes from multi-colored, checkered or bright plain (lilac, purple, green, yellow, red) fabrics. And despite any prohibitions, the Romans dressed in translucent, golden and precious purple fabrics.
The Roman women wore a long and rather wide tunic as an undergarment or at home. Usually she was woolen and girdled. Tunics were made both without sleeves and with long sleeves; sleeves could also be split, with fasteners along the entire length of the arm.
Noble women put on a “table” over a tunic - an outer garment similar to a tunic. It was long, with or without sleeves, and girdled under the breast with a beautiful belt. A wide pleated frill (“insista”) was sewn at the bottom, embroidered with gold sequins and pearls or decorated with a purple trim. The collar and armholes were also decorated with a wide border. A sleeved tunic was worn over a sleeveless tunic (and vice versa). Stola was considered the clothing of married women. It must be worn when appearing in public places. Slaves were forbidden to wear a table.
The outerwear also served as a cloak - "palla", similar to the Greek himation. It was draped in various ways, with a slouching at the waist, and sometimes the head was covered with the upper edge. The palla was fastened on the shoulders with clasps ("agraphs").
The ancient Romans gave the figure a slenderness, tightening the waist with a piece of dense fabric or thin leather under the tunic and supporting the chest with it (which anticipated future women's corsets).

Roman patrician clothing:

The man is wearing an embroidered tunic, a toga, shoes - calceus.

On a woman - a table and peplum. Hairstyle with bouffant and overhead curls.

Roman warrior costume

The aggressive campaigns of Rome led to the fact that the clothes of the soldiers became more comfortable and did not interfere with their movement.
In the early period of the Roman Republic, warriors wore a short woolen sleeveless tunic, and over it they put on a "loric" - a leather shell covered with metal plates. Outerwear was a thick woolen cloak - "trabea". In the era of the Empire, the “sagum” became the outerwear of ordinary warriors - a short cloak made of woolen fabric, borrowed by the Romans from the Gauls. It was such a typical clothing of a Roman soldier that the expression "put on a sagum" meant: "start a war." Leather or linen shells were covered with thin metal or bone plates in the form of scales or feathers. Scaled shells were worn by Roman military leaders.
Warriors wore sandals or boots and metal or leather leggings on their feet. Later, they began to wear woolen trousers below the knee, tightly fitting the leg. Legs up to the ankle and above were protected by boots ("kaligs"), which were held by strong straps.
The metal or leather helmets of the Roman soldiers were of the most varied form. In imperial times, centurion helmets were decorated with a silver-plated crest and a plume of feathers or horsehair. The helmets of generals and emperors were distinguished by especially skillful work. And the helmets of the standard-bearers were covered with animal skins.

Roman warrior in lorica:

The man is wearing a warrior costume: a leather shell, a cassock helmet with a horsehair crest.

On a woman - a table and a peplum thrown over her head, sandals.

On a woman: a lined cape, a tunic with a border

On the man: leather shell with shoulder pads, sagum cloak, calceus boots

Shoes in Ancient Rome

The Romans were not in the habit of walking barefoot.
Free Romans in everyday life wore sandals - "solea". They were tied to the leg crosswise with two straps. Wearing solea in public was considered indecent. The Romans also wore half boots and boots, shoes with belts, etc. Going to public meetings, the Romans put on high (covering the foot to the ankles) leather half boots - “calceus” together with the toga. Unlike Greek crepes, they completely covered the leg. High officials (as well as the emperor during the Empire) wore red leather calceus, high heels, with silver ornaments; senator - black, with belts crossed in front. Expensive men's shoes were made of leather of different colors and decorated with gold and silver plaques. The poor and slaves wore simple wooden shoes. The shoes of the Romans were a necessary part of the toilet, it was considered indecent to take them off even at home. The victorious commanders had purple shoes.
Peasants wore shoes made of wood or raw leather.
Women wore sandals and shoes made of soft colored leather. The shoes worn by noble Roman women were mostly made of light thin leather, embroidered with pearls and gold, and fitted the foot very tightly. Sometimes the Romans wore soft ankle boots.

Hairstyles and headdresses in ancient Rome

The ancient Romans originally (until the end of the 3rd century BC) wore long hair and beards, but then it became fashionable to cut their hair and shave or wear small curled beards. The first barbers arrived in Rome from Sicily in 290 BC.
The hairstyles of the Romans were very different: with bangs above the forehead, with smoothly combed or curled hair. In imperial times, dandies not only curled their hair or wore wigs, but also anointed them with expensive oils, sprinkled with gold dust.
The Romans, like the Greeks, did not have a custom to cover their heads. Hats were worn only by judges and priests. During bad weather, the Romans protected their heads with a hood, they could throw a part of the toga over their heads. But sometimes they put on caps and hats similar to Greek ones (for example, petas). The common people wore straw hats or leather caps.
The hairstyles of noble Roman patrician women were complex and very diverse, and sometimes bizarre. They wore "Greek" hairstyles, combing their hair smoothly and tying it in a knot at the back of their heads. They divided their hair into a straight parting, braided them into braids that wrapped around their heads. They curled long curls, framing their face, or whipped curled hair in front, smoothly combing the rest back.
A typical Roman women's hairstyle was a high hairstyle of curls mounted on a frame, shaped like a Russian kokoshnik. Part of the curls was strengthened in rows on the frame, and the rest of the hair was braided and laid on the back of the head or descended in the form of braids along the temples and on the back of the head.
Blonde and blond hair were considered the most fashionable, and the Romans used various means to lighten their hair. They also wore wigs and false hair, for which the braids of blond German women were used.
The headdresses of Roman women were the same as those of Greek women: headbands, round caps, covered with gold or silver nets. Noble patrician women attached a thin veil in the form of a veil to their headdress, descending over their shoulders.

Roman women's hairstyles:

Jewelry in Ancient Rome

The ancient Romans wore wreaths of fresh flowers. During feasts, they placed wreaths of ivy, myrtle, roses, and violets on their heads. Wreaths decorated the heads of generals, orators, priests, winners of sports competitions, participants in sacrifices. Famous poets were crowned with a laurel wreath (the word "laureate" comes from the Latin name for laurel - "laurea"). To the commander, who managed to save the army from a dangerous situation, the soldiers brought a wreath of grass woven by themselves. The victor was crowned with a laurel wreath, which later began to be made of gold, and then turned into a jagged wreath, called the “radiata crown”.
Roman women wove headbands adorned with pearls, gold, precious stones into their hair, wore golden braided nets, attaching them to their hair with beautiful ivory hairpins.
Male adornments were "bulls" - round medallions-amulets that guarded childhood, which young men wore until civil age (until the onset of 17 years). On the ring finger of the left hand, the Romans wore rings - at first they were iron, later gold. Some dandies adorned their hands with several rings at once. Buckles could also serve as decorations.
Noble Roman women were distinguished by a special, extreme predilection for jewelry. They adopted most of them from Greek women and adorned themselves with fine jewelry made of gold, Indian pearls, and precious stones. They wore neck chains and necklaces, coiled snake rings and bracelets, headbands and tiaras, beautiful buckles. Hair was adorned with strings of pearls. The gold and silver earrings worn by the Roman women had a wide variety of shapes. The most beautiful and most expensive were considered pearl, having the shape of drops. Amber and crystal balls, which Roman matrons held in their hands, were especially popular: it was believed that they refreshed their hands.
The costume of a noble Roman woman was complemented by a very expensive peacock feather fan or an umbrella, which served as protection from the sun or rain.
The ancient Romans were skilled in the use of cosmetics. They borrowed it from the Greeks and Egyptians. Roman women used powder, fragrant oils, ointments, blushes and ointments, special means for lightening hair, for skin rejuvenation. They learned the art of make-up, used various lotions and lipsticks to rejuvenate the skin of the face, used lead white, pumice tooth powder.
The Roman women also used mirrors, which at first were made from a mixture of tin and copper, and later very expensive ones appeared, made of pure silver, with gilding on the reverse side. In addition to hand mirrors, the Romans also had large wall mirrors.
Toiletries were kept by Roman women in toilet bags: silver quadrangular mirrors, similar to Etruscan ones, decorated on the reverse side; ivory combs; hair curlers; gold and silver hairpins and pins; scissors; jars of blush, lipstick, whitewash, perfume bottles, ribbons, etc.

Source - "History in costumes. From pharaoh to dandy". Author - Anna Blaze, artist - Daria Chaltykyan

For several centuries of its existence, ancient Roman society and its way of life have changed significantly. At first, the Greek tradition influenced the cut and style of ancient Roman clothing, however, over time, clothing transformed and acquired a completely different look. This was influenced by the militarized nature of the Roman Empire, and contact with other peoples and their traditions. How did clothing change in ancient Rome and what were its main elements?

Clothing in Ancient Rome was made from sheep wool, linen, silk, which was brought from the East. These fabrics made it possible to create garments that resembled Greek tunics and togas, draped with numerous folds. In later times, denser fabrics gained popularity, which changed the silhouette and cut of clothes, making them more sheath-shaped.

The colors of clothes become more complicated with time. Popular in the early period of Roman history, the white color gradually became solemn, dressed in it only on holidays, and in everyday life they preferred bright and juicy shades. In later times, Roman clothing began to abound with embroideries with complex geometric patterns. However, only wealthy people could afford it.

Outerwear in ancient Rome

Outerwear could tell a lot about its owner, his social status and ethnicity. Casual outerwear for the male population in Rome was lambswool toga, but only citizens could wear it. A purple toga was an attribute of the winner, a gray or black robe was a sign of mourning. There were also special togas for underage boys, clergy and candidates for official positions.

The toga was a semicircular piece of cloth that was wrapped around the body over the left shoulder, forming a multitude of draperies. It was not very convenient to wear such a robe every day, so it quickly turned into a solemn one and gradually fell into disuse. In everyday life, the Romans began to use penula - warm raincoat made of dense fabric, which was worn over the head. Thus, the body was closed on all sides, the head could be protected by a hood. Roman soldiers also wore a similar cloak; it differed from the usual citizen's cloak by its short length and the presence of a fastener on the right shoulder.

Women's outerwear there was a palla cloak that went down to the very ankles. Palla could go down freely or be fixed with a belt at the waist. Such a raincoat was made of fine wool, there were several options for its cut, as well as color options.

Men's and women's clothing in ancient Rome was at first quite heavy and bulky, slowing down movement, so over time the cut evolved into a simpler and more comfortable one. The contacts of the Romans with the barbarian states of Europe contributed a lot to this.

Men's clothing in ancient Rome

Men's clothing in ancient Rome was introduced tunics various cuts, some of which were very reminiscent of Greek robes. They were made of linen or wool, their length reached the knees. As a rule, tunics were spacious shirts and were belted at the waist. They dressed over the head, for which there was a cut on the chest.

The appearance of a tunic depended on the social position of its owner. Peasants and slaves wore simple, dark, mostly brown clothes. aristocrats preferred white and decorated their clothes with embroideries, stone inlays and precious clasps. By the tunic it was possible to distinguish a senator from a commander, and that from an ordinary soldier or priest.

Men's tunics were sewn without sleeves, as they were considered a sign of effeminacy, but young men from aristocratic families at times liked to shock society by appearing on the street in a female version of a tunic with sleeves and a veil on their heads.

A toga was worn over the tunic. Often men wore several tunics one on top of the other.

Trousers were not worn in ancient Rome., they were considered the clothes of the barbarians, unworthy of the citizens of the great empire. However, the soldiers who served on the northern frontier still had to put on this unusual piece of clothing for them to withstand the cold.

Women's clothing of ancient Rome

The daily clothing of the Roman women at first was a longer, kind of tunic. As prosperity grew, it was replaced by a stola - a wide tunic with many folds and short sleeves. This robe reached the feet, its bottom was decorated with ribbons or frills, the waist was fastened with a belt. The basis of women's clothing Ancient Rome had graceful draperies flowing down, and the table was no exception. This form of clothing was considered the privilege of free married women who have an impeccable reputation.

The color scheme of women's outfits was very diverse and differed in brightness and saturation. For example, the bride's attire consisted of a long bright red pala dress, which was worn over a tunic, and an orange veil was thrown over the girl's head. In everyday life, they wore clothes of yellow, golden, blue, green and gray shades.

Instead of underwear the Romans used a lower tunic with a loincloth over which the upper tunic was put on, and then the draping cloak of the palla or penula. With them, or with special veils, the Roman women covered their heads from street dust. Headgear of any kind was rarely used, in part because the women of the Mediterranean empire attached great importance to hair care and elaborate hairstyles.

Shoes for the Romans were sandals and shoes made of soft leather, which were decorated with embroidery and metal details. Numerous ornaments made of precious metals and stones were an important addition to clothing.

The clothing of ancient Rome still attracts the attention of designers and fashion fans, as it allows you to create a beautiful silhouette. Thus, the aesthetic ideals of the Empire continue to exist, being another proof of what a huge contribution ancient Roman culture made to the development of human civilization.

Shoes in ancient Rome

Roman shoe types

A. Feather - shoes without a heel, covering the ankle, were used everywhere;

B. Сalceus - shoes were worn with a dress and dressed outside the home;

C. Calceus Patricius - closed shoes with transverse straps;

D. Caligae - used in the army, while being reinforced with iron or copper nails;

E. soleae - shoes worn at home.

Probably, many of you have heard the word "mantle". Now it means very ugly clothes. Also, many have heard of the tunic (as a type of women's clothing is now called). Some have even heard of the toga. Let's understand these concepts a little. To start: chiton, tunic, toga, mantle originally from ancient Greece.

So let's replenish our section "Needlework" and subsections "" and "" with new materials.

The main task of these garments is to facilitate the transfer of heat and not burn yourself under the sun. The task of "covering nudity" was not set in those days. Why? Because the natural cooling of the body was considered more important, and not bashfulness for the sake of something incomprehensible. Moreover, such clothes made it easier for women lactation.

Have you noticed that in ancient times, a number of “warm” (for example, Harappan, Crete-Mycenaean) cultures had a fashion for women to walk bare-breasted? Last of all, it was necessary in order to seduce men. First of all - to facilitate the feeding of children. For, as you can probably guess, in those days, families were big. And taking off and putting on outerwear every time one of a dozen children wants to eat, gets bored very quickly. Therefore, the output is very logical:

So, back to ancient Greek clothing. Why do we need to know all these things now? For example, because such clothes

• a) beautiful
• b) easy to sew (and in some cases there is no need to sew at all)
• c) it is inexpensive, if you get down to business with your own hands and with the mind.

So there is a reason to figure out what's what, and not only natural history. Thus, we turn to ancient Greek and ancient Roman attire.

We'll start with tunic(translated from ancient Greek - "clothes"). This is the most common and simple piece of clothing for both men and women. The purpose of the tunic is to outline, emphasize the body. Initially, chitons were without patterns, just pieces of fabric. The role of decorative elements was performed fabric folds. But subsequently the tunic was decorated no less magnificently than other types of clothing.

Chiton male is a rectangle of fabric about a meter by two meters. The fabric was folded in half vertically and chipped off with brooches on the shoulders. A mandatory attribute is a belt, sometimes two. Often a release of fabric was made above the belt. For training, one shoulder was “split”.

An even simpler form of clothing for men is mantle. Here, in general, only one fibula is needed and no belt is needed. These are clothes for exercise or for work.

However, after a while, the mantle turned into outerwear, which was worn over the tunic. It's kind of like a mantle. By the way, this is a fairly comfortable cape, tested on myself.

The female tunic was of two types. Dorian tunic it was made from a piece of rectangular fabric, 2 meters long and 1.8 meters wide (almost a square).

1.8 meters is the growth, taking into account the release and limb.

It was folded in half and the upper edge was often bent back by 50-70 centimeters.

The resulting lapel resembled a short sleeveless blouse. The tunic was fastened with brooches on the shoulders, and draped on the chest.

The lobular margins were often left unsewn, and they fell sideways in beautiful folds. When walking, the unsewn side of the tunic opened up, allowing you to see the bare right side and leg.

Ionian tunic- these are two pieces of fabric up to the wrist of horizontally outstretched arms.

They were connected with fasteners from the shoulders to the elbows, gathering the fabric into small symmetrical folds, sewn on the sides and girdled.

In some ways, this is a more modest garment than the Dorian chiton.

But, given the colors, transparency, ornamentation and folds, the Ionian tunic was by no means puritanical clothing:

In ancient Rome, the chiton developed into a tunic.

The development took place in the direction of greater collection of clothes and less folding. Since such a means of expression as the folds of fabric disappeared, it was necessary to take on the decoration in other ways - in color, ornament, and so on. Tunic- clothes in the form of a bag with a hole for the head and arms, usually covering the entire body from the shoulders to the hips. Almost no different from modern sweater-shirts. Only longer, thinner and, most often, more beautiful 🙂 Tunic - underwear:

A shirt-like tunic served the ancient Roman as everyday home wear. She was no longer a simple piece of cloth in which the body was draped. Sewn from two panels, the tunic covered both shoulders, and was worn over the head and at first had only side armholes. Then she got sleeves short to the elbow, which were not sewn in, but were formed by folds of fabric; they have long been considered a sign of panache and effeminacy. The tunic did not have a collar - all antique clothing was devoid of collars. A knee-length tunic was girdled.

Over the tunic (chiton) women wore peplos.

When worn, it looked like this:

Or Himation.

As well as a variety of raincoats, capes and so on.

Men wore a toga over their tunic. Toga- this is not ancient Greek clothing (although it comes from there). The toga was worn in ancient Rome. In the ancient period of Roman history, the toga was worn by everyone: men, women and children. During the day they wrapped themselves in it, at night they covered themselves with it and put it under themselves. Later, the toga became only clothing, and only for men. And later it acquired status - only citizens of Rome could wear it. But not slaves and other trifles.

The toga was a very large piece of woolen material, which had the shape of a segment of a circle or a cropped oval. The length of the toga along the straight edge could reach 6 m or even more, and the rounded edge was about 2 m away from the straight edge at the widest point.

Here's how it happened in practice:

Of course, the basic models were additionally decorated as soon as possible (especially by women):

Accordingly, by connecting the imagination, very beautiful dresses can be made from modern materials based on ancient technologies:

Please note: due to the fact that the authors of these products are not familiar with the issue, these tunics look beautiful, but somehow, in my opinion, incomplete. I think this is primarily because the original width of the material is not preserved, and there are very few folds. Why the general picturesqueness and zest of ancient robes have been lost.

These are how ancient Greek clothes are obtained ...

According to Wikipedia