Comments on: How to Wear a Toga the Ancient Roman Way

By: Annelisa Stephan

Annelisa Stephan — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 22:36:41 +0000

Hi David, That's an interesting question. Not exactly. He wore a dhoti, a traditional Indian garment that is actually quite similar to a toga. For what it's worth, Hindi and Latin are both Indo-European languages so I checked to see if there might be a common etymology. It doesn't look like it, though. Toga is from Latin tegere, to cover, while dhoti has a different Sanskrit root. That's probably more than you wanted to know! If you google "How to wear a dhoti," you'll find some how-to videos.

By: David

David — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 22:24:45 +0000

Did ghandi wear a toga?

By: Annelisa Stephan

Annelisa Stephan — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:53:54 +0000

Hi Clint, Shelby shared with me this link that might be helpful. It shows the shape of the “toga candida”: http://www.fashion-era.com/ancient_costume/roman-costume-history-toga.htm#Toga_Candida_ If you scroll down a little bit from that link, you’ll also see a suggestion for how to create a half-oval of cloth for your toga. It would measure 18 feet on the long side, 7 on the short.

Here’s another good resource with PDFs from a 1924 volume on the subject, which goes into much more detail: http://www.csulb.edu/~dhood/togalink.htm

Good luck!

By: clint

clint — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:34:25 +0000

So, where can one find the pattern for a toga if one doesn’t want to use a sheet?

By: Felt — Kaplak.net

Felt — Kaplak.net — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:35:18 +0000

[...] Another legend attributes the discovery of wool to Pope Clement I. Also known as Saint Clement, the fourth pope had blister-prone feet and stuffed wool into his shoes for extra padding. The combination of sweat and compression made felt. Enthralled by the new material, he and his monks set-up a feltmaking workshop in Rome. Earlier and more concrete evidence of the making and use of felt dates to ancient fresco painting in Pompeii, where images of quactiliarii (feltmakers) have been found decorating the walls of homes and shops. It is possible that these fabricators dressed marble sculptures of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, and Cybele, Earth Mother, in felt robes as an advertisement of their goods. In fact, the supple, silken drapery that we usually imagine in the ancient world are incorrect — the Romans swathed themselves in togas made of heavy wool felt. [...]

By: L’Actualité de l’Antiquité / 3 | Insula

L’Actualité de l’Antiquité / 3 | Insula — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:09:35 +0000

[...] aux figurants : Shelby Brown nous montre en vidéo comment porter la toge. C’est sur le site Getty.edu. Côté Gaulois, on apprend dans Le Courrier Picard que Ludovic Moignet quitte la direction des [...]

By: Miscellanea « The House of Vines

Miscellanea « The House of Vines — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:45:18 +0000

[...] Stephan of the Getty discusses how to wear a toga the proper Roman way: In ancient Rome, togas were no laughing matter. They were [...]

By: Annelisa Stephan

Annelisa Stephan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:27:59 +0000

Hi Jackie. I don’t think so; it seems to have been one of those gradual shifts that takes place in fashion. Roman women wore tunics, and married women wore a shawl-like garment on top called the stola, which over time came to replace the toga. So now that respectable ladies (i.e., married ones) no longer wore togas, it seems like the garment got a bad rap.

By: JACKIE NGUYEN

JACKIE NGUYEN — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:05:40 +0000

when the “Respectable” women wore togas in Rome’s early days, did they feel disgrace? Is that why they don’t wear togas anymore?

By: Annelisa

Annelisa — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:33:34 +0000

Hi Janice! Prostitutes did wear them, but so did male citizens (an elite class). Rome was a very status-conscious society, and the etiquette of toga-wearing changed over time. "Respectable" women wore togas in Rome's early days, but by the Republican era, the only women who wore togas were prostitutes. The article we linked to above has lots of juicy details on the subject. Here's my favorite sentence: "While the toga was a mark of honor for a man, it was a mark of disgrace for a woman."