Basic Garments of Roman Men & Boys:

Feminalia - shorts coming to the knee

Bracae – long, baggy pants

Subucula or Indusium – Under-tunic; could be sleeveless, short-sleeved or long-sleeved; kept the outer tunica from contact with sweat and oils from the body and/or could add a layer of warmth in cold weather.

Tunica – tunic coming to just above the knees after being bloused over a belt; could be sleeveless and cut very wide, or have short or long sleeves and be cut narrower (but still rather full and loose fitting); the neck is cut as a horizontal slit or wide, shallow oval rather than as a circle like medieval tunics; Roman men in this period mostly wore white tunics and all tunicas worn with the toga were white.

Tunica Angusticlavia – White Tunic worn by the Equestrian Class; decorated with 1” wide (or narrower) clavi (purpura stripes) running from the top of the shoulder to mid-chest, or all the way to the hem, in both front and back.

Tunica Laticlavia – White Tunic worn by the Senatorial Class; decorated with 2-3” wide clavi (purpura stripes) running from the top of the shoulder to mid-chest, or all the way to the hem, in both front and back.

Tunica Purpura – ONLY worn by the Emperor! Purpura tunic with wide gold clavi.

Zona – Belt; usually of leather.

Toga – The draped garment of men and children; men’s togas are usually 4-5 yards long with a rounded outer edge.

Toga Pura – Citizen’s plain white toga; also worn by the Equestrian Class.

Toga Praetexta – Senatorial toga; also worn by boys & girls under 14 years old; trimmed around the curved edge with a purpura band 1.5 – 3” wide.

Toga Purpurea – ONLY worn by the Emperor! Solid purpura toga with a gold border and sometimes additional decoration.

Toga Pulla – dark gray or black toga worn instead of the normal toga when someone is in mourning.

Making an Early Imperial Toga

• For a man of average height and average build, you will need about 5 yards of fabric 54-60” wide. If you have a large torso, you may need to add some additional length.
  • To adjust the size for kids and men who are shorter or taller, your toga should be approximately 2 ½ times as long at A-B as your total height. C-D is 1/3 of the length, or as close as convenient with modern fabric. G-H is just a bit over 1/3 the length of A-B. So for a child 4’5” tall, A-B would be about 10½ feet, C-D would be about 32” and G-H would be about 40”.
• You can use the fabric selvages as A-B and G-H. The curve from E-G is not exact, the goal is to round off the two lower corners. Fold your fabric in half lengthwise and cut both ends at the same time to ensure that both ends are uniform.
• Hemming A-C-E is optional but adds a nice finish.
• Hem A-E-G-D-H-F-B in one continuous hem to help blend the straight and curved edges and help the finished garment hang better.

To wear:

• Drape the straight side (A-C-B) over your left shoulder so that point A hangs in front of your left knee (can hang slightly lower or higher).
• With your right hand, grab the straight side from behind you and bring it to the front by passing under your right arm and over your right hip.
• Throw the remaining length of the straight side over your left shoulder so that point B hangs behind you at about the same height as point A.
• You will want to play with this a bit to find where points A & B should hang.

The toga does not need to be tight and it is not supposed to entirely cover you – that’s what the tunica underneath is for! The toga is an accessory, like a decorative cape, rather than the main garment.