2. Most people wore clothes made from wool or linen.
Cotton cloth brought from India and silk from China were
also used for making clothes, but they were too
expensive.
Fur was also used, especially in winter.
Clothes were usually made from large,
uncut pieces of cloth, which were folded
and pinned with pins, or tied with belts.
3. A man´s basic clothing was a loincloth
(underwear) and a tunic over it.
Tunics were made from two rectangles
stitched at the sides and shoulders, and
tied with a belt.
When the weather was cold, they wore
three or four tunics at a time!
Ordinary men wore
tunics in various
colours.
People in rural areas
wore cloaks.
4. If he were a citizen, he would also wear a toga.
A toga was a large piece of cloth wrapped round the
body.
Togas were normally white, but other colours were also
worn. There were brightly coloured togas for parties and
special occasions and dark togas for mourning.
A senator´s toga had a purple band and the emperor´s
toga was purple with gold.
Many people disliked the toga because it was very heavy
and difficult to clean.
5. Over the underwear, women wore a tunic
made of wool or linen, with our without
sleeves.
Over this they wore a dress called stola,
which reached their ankles.
They sometimes wore a shawl, called the
palla, on top. It was a large rectangular piece
of cloth which they
could drape over the stola
in many ways.
Slaves preparing their
mistress for a party.
6. Women wore make-up.
It was supposed to be beautiful to look very pale. This
was probably to show that you were rich enough not to
have to work outdoors.
They coloured their lips with red.
Rich women spent lots of time and money in their
hairstyles. They had slaves to do their hair for them.
They wore different hairstyles with plaits, curls and
waves.
7. Jewellery
Rings were the most common item of jewellery. They
were worn both by women and men.
Roman women wore gold chains and necklaces. The
most prized precious stones were pearls.
Most also wore earrings.
8. Most girls and boys wore tunics like those of their
parents.
At about the age of 14, there was a special ceremony
and children began wearing adult clothes.
9. They had different kinds of shoes.
Women wore elegant sandals, but a soldier´s boots were
studded with nails. That way they didn´t wear the out
when marching and they didn’t trip over.
Shoes were usually made of leather.
Nails
