Classical Kids by Laurie Carlson

Author:Laurie Carlson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 1998-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

MAP OF ANCIENT ROME

DRESS UP ROMAN

TOGA

The toga looks a lot like the Greek chiton, but Roman clothes were longer and fuller than the Greeks’, using many more yards of cloth. Fabrics were wool and linen, woven heavier and thicker for winter wear. The toga took careful wrapping and tucking. Helping the master or mistress drape the toga correctly was sometimes the job of special slaves.

The toga was 2½ times as long as a person’s height, and the width was two times his or her height. People wore a tunica, which was sort of a long undershirt, under the toga or when hanging around the house. When the weather was cold, people wore up to four tunicas under the toga.

Folds were so important that the wearer tried not to move around too much. Slaves carefully arranged the folds. The night before wearing, slaves would put small pieces of wood in the fabric to form the folds. Small bits of lead were sewn along the edges of the toga to weight the fabric, making it drape into better folds.

The toga was too clumsy to work in, so when you saw someone on the street wearing it you knew he was wealthy and had no need to labor. The law said that only freemen could wear togas. Slaves wore loincloths, or cloth wrapped like a diaper and tied around their waists. Workmen wore loincloths, too, and sometimes short capes. Boys wore togas with purple trimming on the edges until they became sixteen years old. Then they were considered men and changed to solid white togas. Girls wore togas with purple trim until they married and then they no longer used the purple trim. Soldiers wore togas in battle, but then they tied the end around their waists instead of tossing it over their left shoulders.

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