Western World Costume. Carolyn G. Bradley
to go barefoot indoors.Accessories: mappa; sudarium; orarium; fasces; glove for boxing, eating food, driving or gardening; walking stick; umbrella of leather for rain; parasol of palm leaves, later, of silk.Jewelry: Greek influence in design; restraint in use and type of jewelry at first, ostentatious, later; fibula; signet ring of iron used in earlier part of period; rings later worn on several joints of fingers; gold ring set with precious stones or engraved with portrait of friend or historical event, used for sealing documents, for state and military honors; gold, silver, bronze, and jeweled ornaments; bracelet worn by conquering general.Typical Colors: until late Empire Period, white usually used for toga and tunica; purple ranging between scarlet, crimson, and deep violet, worn by upper class; special colors for special vocations: charioteer, blue-green, red, and white; philosopher, blue; theologist, black; doctor, green; astrologist, white; 1 color of somber hue, obligatory for peasant; officer, 2 colors; purple-edged toga for priest; purple silk toga, lined with gold, for victorious general; red shoe worn by patrician; natural color for dalmatica, later, bright colors, decorated profusely; red, yellow, white, or green shoe, forbidden for man by Emperor Aurelian, because used by woman; additional colors, including scarlet, violet, marigold, crocus yellow, rust, sea green, blue and green.Typical Materials: similar to Greek but more delicate; fine linen and wool used for highest rank, in the previous period, silk little known before 1st century; silk embroidered with pure gold thread after the middle of the 1st century; fur and felt in Empire Period; cotton little known until after Eastern conquests; earlier fabrics either woven in pattern or with embroidered design, later, with borders or bands of figures; woolen toga; linen, cotton or woolen dalmatica; woolen, linen or semisilk tunica; soft linen tunica interior; leather shoe, goat’s hair for leg covering; coarse material for lowest rank.Make-up: hairdressing and manicuring; teeth well cared for, toothpicks; beauty patches; public bath included places for exercise, rare perfume, oils and unguents, the latter used several times a day; curling tongs.
4 WOMEN (The Republic and Empire, 509 B.C.-A.D. 476 )Garments:Outer upper and outer lower: long stola; low neckline; sleeved tunica or tunica talaris; closer-fitting garment; stola discontinued after dalmatica appeared; dalmatica usually unbelted, ankle or longer, worn over tunica interior, 3rd century A.D.; in 4th century A.D. dalmatica narrow at top and worn with belt; several tunicas of various lengths; rather high-waisted tunica with single girdle popular, cut-out sleeve used; institia; extremely lavish dress later.Under : camisia, tunica interior.Cloaks and overgarments: toga, in early times, later worn only as a sign of disgrace; palla; paenula; veil worn with dalmatica.Hair: in Republican Period, similar to that of the Grecian woman, parted in center with coil at back of neck; sometimes high, braided coil at back; hair also parted and waved, ears covered with back hair braided or coiled around crown of head, 4th century A.D.; puff of hair with stiff curls or frizzed in front; elaborate hairdress, Republic and early Empire; hair never flowing; sometimes cluster of curls escaping from top of small cap.Headdress: ornaments worn in hair; stephane; wreath and kerchief; diadem of gold filigree; cap of gold net bound with solid gold band; double bandeau; heavy, twisted, gold circlet; palliolum; veil draped over head and shoulder, also used as a ritual accessory; petasus; cucullus.Footwear: boot; footwear of thinner and more colorful and costlier leather than that for man, often ornamented with jewels and embroidery; sometimes tied with narrow bands of colored silk; sandal and solea worn indoors, and by slave; calceus worn out-of-doors; woman of high social position never seen on street wearing sandal.Accessories: belt or girdle showing rank; perfume balls of amber and rock crystal; fan, one type with feathers; colorful parasol; hairpins of ivory, often elaborate pin in coil of hair; manicuring set; mirror of polished brass, silver or other metal; needles and work box; gold, silver or quill toothpick.1. Toga 2. Palla 3. Sudarium 4. Institia 5. SandalJewelry: at first restraint in use of jewelry, later very ostentatious, resulting from conquests in the Orient; fibula in Republican Period, later a long brooch; snake bracelet; many bracelets, one above the other, often made of iron, copper or ivory; rings of gold and silver as well as baser metal, set with precious stones, pearl, emerald, ruby, diamond; wedding ring; jeweled earrings; gold and costly jewels used in hair ornaments; precious jewels on dress and footwear; yellow gold enameled or inlaid with bright colors.Typical Colors: white stola, sometimes with yellow border; white and flame used as bridal colors; white or green shoe. Refer to C. 7.Typical Materials: wool used for stola at first, later, silk or linen; linen palla or veil; thin leather shoe. Refer to C. 8.Make-up: pomade taken over from barbaric invaders; eye make-up; face paint or rouge; powder of corn or pea flour and barley meal; patches on face and neck; mask of breadcrumbs soaked in milk or narcissus bulbs and honey spread on linen, kept on face over night; depilatory for excess hair; private baths for women, many baths taken in a day; milk used for bath, oils after the bath; hair oils; teeth well cared for, pumice-stone preparation used for cleaning the teeth; special care of fingers and nails; hair dyed red or color of saffron, sometimes destroyed hair; much false hair used, red or blonde, taken from head of northern barbarian woman; hair stylist employed in villa of well-to-do woman.
SIGNIFICANT MOTIFS
Significant motifs of the Roman Period followed the Grecian ornamentations. Egyptian and Oriental designs were added later. Special decorations included conventional floral, geometric, human and animal motifs. Realistic scenes and Christian symbols were used in the later years of this period.
INFLUENCES ON LATER COSTUMES
Roman influence shown in drapery and jewelry, 1840 and early part of 1900; sandal, 1940-52; flame-tipped emblem on Minerva’s armor as a design on an evening cape used by a famous designer, late 1940’s.
BOOKS OF REFERENCE
(See also GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, p. 433)
Allen, J. T., Stage Antiquities of the Greeks and Romans and Their Influence (New York, Longmans, Green and Co., 1927)
1. Sagum 2. Cuculla 3. Cinctus Gabinus 4. Abolla 5. Paludamentum 6. Toga Umbo
Gall, Rob, Wandtafein zur Veranschaulichung des Lebens der Grieschen und Römer (Vienna and Leipzig, A. P. Witwe and Sohn, 1913)
Hope, Thomas, Costumes of the Ancients (London, Henry G. Bohn, 1841)
Houston, Mary Galway, Ancient, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume, Vol. 2 (London, A. and C. Black, Ltd., 1931)
McClees, Helen, The Daily Life of the Greeks and Romans (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1928)
Norris, Herbert, Costume and Fashion, Vol. 1 (New York, E. P. Dutton and Co., 1925)
Saunders, Catherine, Costume in Roman Comedy (New York, Columbia University Press, 1909)
Wilson, Lillian M., The Roman Toga (Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1924)
————, The Clothing of the Ancient Romans (Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1938)
GLOSSARY
Abolla—red, rectangular, military cloak, resembling chlamys of soldier worn at beginning of Empire Period; made of fine linen, later, of silk. Pl. IX, 4.
Alb or Albe—shirt or white linen garment reaching to heel; worn under dalmatica.
Angustus Clavus—purple or red stripes about 1½ inches wide, worn in front and back on dalmatica, tunica and stola, considered a badge of the upper class until the end of the 1st century.
Birrus—cape-like garment with a hood of fairly thick fabric; worn in winter by nobility.
Bracco—loose-fitting leg covering.
Buskin—refer to Chap. 4.
Calceus—most important type of shoe worn by citizen; consisted of a sole the shape of the foot, with straps fastened to the upper part and laced around the ankle; at first a brown leather boot.
Calceus Patricius—strapped shoe of red leather with a high sole, laced with hooks and decorated with a crescent-shaped buckle, worn by nobleman.