Toga costume origins The Roman toga was a marvelous garment that was designed to keep one in style and warm in all seasons, even if you decided to wear it with nothing underneath. It was worn first by the Lydians and then by the Etruscans and by early Romans, before they lost touch with the elements in middle-Republican times. In fact, the word "candidate" comes from this ancient whiter-than-white toga custom; the brightened toga was the toga candida (candida = bright) and those who wore them, while seldom the best, were most often the candidati, the brightest. The toga candida might get you elected to office by your fellow senators, but it also was a source of derision in drama and on the streets. The same was true of its opposite, the toga sordita, a dirty and worn toga, accompanied by disarranged hair and general messiness. It was affected either when seeking a big favor from a patron or when appearing as the accused in a civil law court -- the idea of the toga sordita seemed to be some variation of "I am too poor and distraught to take care of myself, so please have pity." These are mainly the types of togas we wear today. In Lydian and Etruscan times and in the earliest times of the pre-republican monarchy, women also wore togas, but theirs were more strategically draped in front to prevent male gawking. Togas for women rapidly went out of style, and some scholars say it happened when Roman men started dating Latin and raping Sabine women: the image of Roman female modesty thereafter became the Latin one, which didn't include loosely draped togas. How do you put on a toga costume? Two people, neither of which the wearer is, stretch the toga out lengthwise and fold it lengthwise in thirds. The edge with the stripe, if it has one, is folded over and the other edge is folded under. The narrower, more rounded end is draped forward over the left shoulder - striped side forward and the striped edge near the neck - with the tip just above the wearer's toes. The long remainder is loosely wrapped around the wearer's back and brought under his right arm. That accounts for two thirds of the length. The remaining third is thrown back over the left shoulder. It's on, and the weight of the wool keeps it on. The left arm was usually held bent and close to the body. Sometimes, especially if a spirited speech in the Senate was on the wearer's schedule, a slave might reach under the left armpit and stitch or pin together (as invisibly as possible) the two long dangling ends. Feel free to browse through our complete toga costume collection on our site if you feel you need any help. |
