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Statue of the Emperor Tiberius showing a draped toga of the 1st century AD. The toga (/ ˈ t oʊ ɡ ə /, Classical Latin: [ˈt̪ɔ.ɡa]), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between 12 and 20 feet (3.7 and 6.1 m) in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body.
In literature and poetry, Romans were the gens togata ("togate race"), descended from a tough, virile, intrinsically noble peasantry of hard-working, toga-wearing men and women. The toga's origins are uncertain; it may have begun as a simple, practical work-garment and blanket for peasants and herdsmen.
In Latin literature, wearing the male toga was associated with prostitution and adultery. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] In Roman life, the only Roman women who wore a toga were unfree prostitutes (referred to as meretrices or ancillae ) who worked in the streets and in brothels.
After the transition of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire in c. 44 BC, only men who were citizens of Rome wore the toga. Women, slaves, foreigners, and others who were not citizens of Rome wore tunics and were forbidden from wearing the toga. By the same token, Roman citizens were required to wear the toga when conducting official business.
Originally the toga was worn by all Romans; free citizens were required to wear togas because only slaves and children wore tunics.By the 2nd century BC, however, it was worn over a tunic, and the tunic became the basic item of dress. Women wore an outer garment known as a stola, which was a long pleated dress similar to the Greek chitons.
Man wearing Petasos, Coinage of Kapsa Macedon c. 400 BCE. Women and men wore different types of headgear. [2] Women could wear veils to preserve their modesty. [9] [page needed] Men would wear hats for protection against the elements. [4] [page needed] Both men and women also wore different types of headbands to pull their hair up or for ...
Instead, both wore a tunic as undergarment, with Roman women wearing a stola and men a toga as upper garment. [12] Amongst the Germanic peoples, men generally wore long trousers, and women sometimes as well. [12] It seems that ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians wore no trousers but a vast array of aprons, robes, cloaks, and knee skirts. [12]
Palla (garment) a long rectangular piece of cloth, folded in half lengthwise and used as a cloak by Roman women. Chitons; Togas a very long length of woolen fabric that Romans wrapped around themselves, draping it over the left shoulder and arm and leaving the right arm free. Himation an ancient Greek garment similar to the Roman toga.