Toga Tuesday 2019
by Connor Shearn
by Connor Shearn
On Toga Tuesday, Hilton seniors wore togas to celebrate their senior pride. You might wear your heart on your sleeve, but Romans wore a lot more on their togas. An indicator of rank, a man’s toga could tell a great deal about him. Slaves and foreigners could wear no togas at all, while citizens wore a plain toga. White bleached togas signified a political candidate with black toga signified mourning - this tradition of wear black to funerals is one that still exists to this day (Roman Clothing, Part I).
While the toga’s roots lie with the Etruscans and Greeks, it was truly an invention of Rome. Despite being only a half-circle of cloth, togas were very import to roman people. They even called themselves the togati, people of the toga. Despite cultural importance, the toga was not exactly practical. As it was difficult to keep clean and it restricted movements, it fell out of use for most citizens by the Late Antiquity period. Because war generals would often wear armor instead, they became a symbol for times of peace. The last to use togas were the wealthy, as they could afford such luxuries and flaunt their good health, great wealth and lack of danger. After the toga, a tunic and mantle became the standard garb until the Middle Ages ("Toga").
Despite their fade many centuries prior, the toga made a resurgence in the 1950s with “toga parties”. Dressed in sandals and often donning an ivory wreath, college students would dress in bed sheets and essentially party just as hard as normal. As these parties have continued until the modern day, togas found now can be much more complex than folded bed sheets or even the Roman cloths. Modern day togas can be found in any hue or material with accessories such as ropes, wreaths and pockets ("Toga").
Though this piece of fabric has a rich history, it is still simply a piece of fabric; if ever a toga is needed, a folded bed sheet will make do.
Works Cited
Roman Clothing, Part I, www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing.html.
“Toga.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Oct. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toga.