Every item of male clothing made a statement about a man’s position in society. Even if a man did not wear his toga, the colour, design and materials that formed his garments told the onlooker something about his place in society.
The Roman Toga
The toga was the most obvious way of identifying a Roman citizen as it was a garment forbidden to foreigners and slaves. An uncomfortable, dignified garment, it became usual only to wear it on ceremonial and formal occasions.
Traditionally, the toga was worn alone, but wearing it with an undertunic became more usual.
The Roman Tunic
The tunic was the standard garment for all classes of Roman men. It was worn as a base garment or on its own.
Its design was basic. Two knee-length pieces of cloth were sewn to leave openings for the neck and arms. The garment was fastened with a belt or cingulum at the waist. This could be used to adjust the length of the garment.
The tunic was the only item of clothing a slave could wear. Often, this made them indistinguishable from working men of the lower class ( although slaves from wealthy households could often be more richly dressed than the free poor).
The tunics of manual workers were usually hitched above the knee to allow greater freedom of movement. The materials used were also cheap and plain, wool being usual.
The more leisured the classes wore their tunics longer — usually to the knee. These tunics were also silk or linen and often decorated with embroidery.
As with women’s clothes, fashionable male tunics became fancier in the Imperial period. Julius Caesar reputedly introduced the wearing of fringed sleeves. By the second century AD, tunics with sleeves had become the norm after being initially shunned as decadent and effeminate garments against austere Roman ideals.
The Significance of Decor
Decor was not merely ornamental; it was used to make a statement about the wealth or class of the wearer and any public office he held. This was done by using a strip or border known as a clavus. Members of the equestrian order wore a special tunic known as the tunica angusticlavia — a tunic with a narrow purple stripe running from shoulder to hem. Senators wore the tunica laticlavia, a similar plain white tunic with a broader purple stripe.
Ordinary citizens could not wear tunics with these vertical stripes. And the only person who could wear an exclusively purple tunic was the emperor.
Outdoor Wear for Roman Men
Outdoor wear was fairly standard. In bad weather, most people would wear a pallium, a basic woollen cloak. Travellers favoured the more practical paenula, a long sleeveless woollen cloak like a poncho.
Those in the army had a special kind of cloak, the lacerna. Made of dark-coloured wool, it replaced the impractical toga as a kind of dress uniform as well as offering protection against the elements.
Roman Footwear
It was usual to wear sandals known as solea indoors. The solea was a simple leather sole fastened by cords fixed to the instep. The oldest and simplest form of sandal was the carbatinia. Made of ox hide, they were fastened at the ankles and instep by thongs.
Outside the house, shoes were more substantial. Calcei completely covered the toes, protecting feet from the elements and the mire of Roman streets. Slaves often carried their master’s sandals for them when they were out visiting so they could change their calcei on reaching their destination.
Shoes, like tunics, had a social significance. Slaves were not allowed to wear calcei, which were also the only form of footwear allowed with the toga. The colour of footwear also important. The wealthy wore brightly coloured shoes as they could afford the dyed leather. Traditionally, those of patrician status wore red shoes.
Resources
Gibbons (abridged and illustrated 1979). Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Bison Books.
