ANCIENT ROME

FASHION DESIGN 1 HISTORY OF CLOTHING LECTURER: LEONIE SLATTERY

Roman Culture:
The ancient Roman culture flourished between 700B.C. and 1st
Century A.D. originating in west central Italy. The Roman Empire included most of what would be considered Western Europe today.

The empire was conquered by the Roman Army and a Roman way
of life was established to conquer countries.

The Romans were warlike, ambitious and intelligent; they

succeeded in conquering and ruling most of Europe. The Roman's originated many sophisticated systems of government, initially they were a republic and then, later an Empire.

The Roman System:

Rome was initially governed by Kings, but only after 7 of them had ruled, the Romans took the power of their own city and ruled themselves. They then had a council, known as the senate. From this point Rome was referred to as The Roman Republic. Leaders were assisted by a Senate - comprised of older statesmen from ancient noble families.
Rome was strictly divided into distinct classes. There were 4 classes: The lowest class were slaves The next were the plebeians. They were free people but had no say Higher up were the equestrians, also known as knights The highest class were the nobles of Rome.

Julius Caesar
Roman's systems of law, 12 month calendar and methods of road building and architecture are innovations that we still appreciate today. As they conquered towns throughout Europe and Britain, they 'civilised' them by building roads, bridges, town halls, baths and aqueducts, similar to those in Rome. Romes most famous citizen was Julius Caesar. He was a Roman Politician and general who, without having an order to do so, conquered a vast territory of the Gauls, North of France. He also ruled as a dictator.

The Great Roman Empire

The Romans were not content with conquering cities and countries close to them, and set off to conquer the whole of Europe. They were successful, in the most part, yet as their empire grew, it became more and more difficult to maintain power, this lead to the fall of the Roman Empire. Cities built by the Romans reflect beauty. Many of the buildings are still standing today, and remain magnificent architectural heritage sights. The coliseum, for one was built as an arena for slaves to battle against other slaves and animals. They were known as gladiators.

The Coliseum:

Roman Gladiators:

Religion:
Religion played an important role in the life of Ancient Romans. Roman religion centred on the pagan faith. They were pagans who worshipped many Gods, who are similar in many ways to Greek Gods. Paganism is a faith based on naturalism and the relevance of nature. Pagans believe that everything has a spirit, there were gods and goddesses of the forest, sea, and all aspects of nature. Pagans also believe in reincarnation, but did not believe in the existence of a heaven and a hell. Today, pagans celebrate the earth, living creatures, nature, and believe in more than one god.

The Pantheon
The Pantheon in Rome, is a lovely example of a Pagan temple. The word pantheon means to every God and was dedicated to every god in ancient Rome. The Pantheon had a large dome, with an open Oculus in the centre which lets light into the temple. To this day, 2000 years after the Pantheon was built, it is still the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. Architects still puzzle over how the Dome was constructed and how it is supported. Temples built in Ancient Rome are very similar to those seen in Ancient Greece. Temples with columns and pillars which support a triangular roof are often seen in Ancient Rome.

Romans admired and copied much of Greek culture, especially their art and sculpture. Their clothing is also similar in appearance to the Greeks and they believed in draping fabric around the body and sewing was seldom used.

Roman Clothing:

It can often become difficult to distinguish between Roman and Greek clothing, as they were very similar. Like the Greeks, the Romans made use of Linen. UNDERWEAR: The Romans would wear simple loincloths knotted on each side. THE TUNIC: This was the basic garment worn in Rome. It was the standard dress of Rome. Male Tunics would usually be to the knees, while woman

would wear floor length tunics.

A purple stripe worn on a tunic was called a clavus, and indicated a membership to a particular order or senate. A senator would wear a tunic with a vertical purple stripe down the centre. An equestrian would wear a tunic bearing 2 vertical stripes.

Roman Clothing:

 INDUMENTA: are garments that were pulled over the head, and AMICTUS were those draped over the body. Women wore a strophium, a type of bust bodice and over this a short tunic. Over that a STOLA would be worn, this garment was a long sleeved tunic, which fell to the ankles. A PALLA, a voluminous cloak was then carefully draped over the stola, and would sometimes be drawn over the head as well. Garments were made out of wool, cotton or linen while the very wealthy could afford to wear silk. Popular colours were red, yellow and blue- with lavish embroidery and sometimes, gold fringing.

The Roman Toga:

TOGAS are usually associated with the Romans, but they were only meant to be worn by Roman citizens and forbidden to women, slaves or foreigners. Men usually wore a knee length sewn garment called a TUNICA and over this was draped, the toga. The toga was usually about 5.5 metres long and about 3.5 metres wide, and draping it required great skill. Different colours indicated different professions or status, eg. senators only wore white, the emperor/ leader could wear purple. A cloak called a LACERNA, could also be added for warmth. In some cases, weights were sewn into the seams to keep the Toga in place. This also helped with the draping of a toga. The toga was generally made of wool, but the type of wool determined the luxury of the toga. It eventually became improper for a Roman citizen to be seen in public without a toga. Anyone who did not wear a toga, would be considered a slave or a workman.

The Tunic and the Toga

Textiles and Dyes:

Status was very important in the great Roman Empire. Like today, clothes were a form of expression such as status. Tyrian purple, is the colour associated with royalty and status. This colour was gained from the fluids of a certain type of sea snail in the eastern Mediterranean.

Footwear
All Romans wore sandals called CARBATINA - which was made of leather sole and thin leather straps to attach it to the foot. Indoors women wore the SOCCUS, a type of cloth slipper. Soldiers wore BUSKINS, a type of closed boot as extra protection when at war.

Cosmetics:
Grooming was very important to Romans and

everyone regularly attended the public baths, where

they could exercise, enjoy thermae (sauna) and bathe. Olive oil was used instead of soap and milk baths were believed to be good for the skin. Blonde hair was believed to be very attractive and women used many different concoctions to achieve this. Hairstyles were very elaborate- hair was frizzed, curled and waved with hot irons. Head bands or even tiaras were worn to keep the styles in place, and a veil (flammeum) was sometimes added. Men and women wore rings, but women also adorned themselves with bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Young boys would wear an amulet called a bulla around the neck, for protection from evil.