Activity: Wear a Toga!

In the year 79 CE, the city of Pompeii was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Centuries later, archaeologists were able to uncover the remains of a city frozen in time, and the clues left behind on that fateful day build a detailed picture of the daily life of ordinary Roman citizens.

In statues and paintings uncovered in Pompeii, men are shown wearing togas. Though in the 21st century, anyone can wear whatever they want, in the first century, togas were worn by citizens of Rome. In ancient Rome, only men could be Roman citizens. Though life in Rome would have been impossible without the important work done by slaves and working-class freedmen to build and run the empire, and though there were many powerful and important women at all levels of Roman society, they had different rights than a male citizen, and the male citizens showed off their status by wearing a toga. 

A toga had a similar function to a suit jacket or blazer today. Togas were worn over a citizen’s regular clothing to important public events, such as games, rituals, or weddings, to show off their social status. A Roman would never go out in a toga and nothing else, any more than you would show up to work or school today wearing only a blazer. The clothing under the toga would usually be a tunic (imagine a giant pillowcase with holes for your arms and head) tied at the waist. In general, the longer the tunic, the higher the status of the person wearing it.

Though women likely also wore togas in earlier times, by the time Pompeii was buried, they wore a long pleated dress called a stola and a shawl called a palla instead. The palla was wrapped around the body in a similar way to a toga, but it was rectangular, could come in many colours, and could be pulled up at the back to cover the woman’s hair when she left the house.

Like all fashion, togas changed over time. For this activity, the toga we’re using as an example was a semicircle of about 5.5 metres of wool fabric, wrapped around the body in a very specific way. It was heavy, hot, and difficult to move in, but an essential item for a Roman citizen. 

There were many different types of togas, which include:

Toga praetexta: This toga was white with a purple border, worn by boys until they were old enough to shave (and possibly girls until they were old enough to get married). This type of toga was usually worn together with a pouch-shaped amulet called a bulla. A Roman boy would wear a bulla around his neck to ward off evil. Wealthy or high-born boys would have amulets made of gold, but cheaper versions made of leather were also worn.

Toga virilis: Once the young Roman reached manhood (marked by his first time shaving), the day was usually celebrated with a festival and the young man would trade the toga praetexta for the all-white toga virilis.

Toga candida: If a citizen wanted to run for election, he would bleach his toga extremely bright to stand out from the crowd (the word candida means bright). This is where the modern word “candidate” comes from. If he got elected as a magistrate, he’d wear a toga praetexta again!

Toga pulla: A dark toga worn when someone was in mourning.

Toga picta: Triumphant generals wore the toga picta, or “toga with pictures,” showing off their victories in coloured pictures or gold embroidery. Because purple dye was very expensive, the Emperor would wear a very special toga picta that was all purple with gold embroidery.

The toga was worn by draping it around the wearer in a complex series of folds. It was not supposed to be pinned, since good quality wool would stick to itself and keep the toga in place, but sometimes people might have cheated and used a shoulder brooch called a fibula to help keep the toga in place. A fibula is like an ancient version of a modern safety pin!