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Roman Men:
Rings were the only jewelry worn by
Roman citizen men, and good manners dictated only one ring. Of
course, some men did not follow "good taste", and wore
as many as sixteen rings. Hairstyles and beards varied with the
times. In early Roman times, men wore long hair and full beards.
For a while, they were clean-shaven with short hair. About 1c CE,
they had started to style their hair, and wear beards again.
Roman
Women: Women enjoyed
gazing at themselves in mirrors of highly polished metal (not
glass). The ancient Roman women loved ornate necklaces, pins,
earrings, bracelets and friendship rings. Pearls were
favorites.
Women often dyed their hair,
usually golden-red. They used false hairpieces to make their hair
thicker or longer. Sometimes, Roman women wore their hair up, in
carefully arranged styles, held with jeweled hairpins. Sometimes
they wore it down, curled in ringlets.
Parasols were used, or women might
carry fans made of peacock feathers, wood or stretched
linen.
Women's street shoes were made of
leather, like a man's. In the house, most Romans (men and women)
wore sandals. Women's sandals were brightly colored. Some were
even decorated with pearls.
Roman Boys: Boys
wore a tunic down to their knees. It was white, with a crimson
border. Once a boy became a man, he put aside his childish
clothes, and wore an all-white tunic.
A boy became a citizen at age 16 or
17. The year was selected by choosing the date which came closest
to March 17th.
Coming of age, becoming a citizen,
was quite a celebration. On a boy's sixteenth or seventeenth
birthday, the boy dressed himself in a white tunic, which his
father adjusted. The day ended with a dinner party, given by the
father, in honor of the new Roman citizen.
Roman
Girls: Girls wore a simple tunic
with a belt at the waist. When they went outside, they wore a
second tunic that reached their feet.
Bulla: Children
wore a special locket around their neck, given to them at birth,
called a bulla. It contained an amulet as a
protection against evil and was worn on a chain, cord, or
strap.
Girls wore their bulla until the
eve of their wedding day, when their bulla was set aside with
other childhood things, like her toys.
Boys wore their bulla until they
day they became a citizen. Boys bullas were put aside and
carefully saved. A boy's bulla could be wore by the owner again,
if he won special honors. For example, if he became a successful
general, and won the honor of triumph, he would wear his bulla in
ceremonial parades, to protect him from the evil jealously of men
or gods.
Clothes
Roman
Dress |
