The dress of the Romans mainly signified rank, status, office or authority. As public display and recognition were a major part of having status, much of the clothing worn by the Romans was designed to reveal the status of the wearer. The more distinguished the wearer was, the more distinctively marked his clothes were while the clothing of the lower classes were often not even marked. Very little clothing survived after the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD. However statues and frescoes are both reliable sources of evidence. There have been cases where some pieces of fabric, shoe leather, metal fasteners and pins have been found. The typical Roman garment, worn by the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum was made from wool. By the late republic the women of the more wealthy classes had stopped spinning and weaving their own cloth. Instead they had slaves to do the work within the house or they purchased it commercially. Well to do Romans could purchase linen, cotton, or even silk. Woollen cloth was made both in the home as well as in the streets and the linen came from Egypt.

men Most males wore a tunic; this was made of two pieces of undyed wool, it was then sewn together at the sides and the shoulders and belted at the waist just above the knee. The openings were at the top of the garment, it created an effect of sleeves which became quite short when the tunic was belted in place. Men in the equestrian class wore a tunic with narrow stripes; these were the colour the Romans referred to as purple. The stripes extended from the shoulder all the way down to the hem, broad stripes distinguished the tunics of men in the Senatorial class. Only citizens were allowed to wear the toga, this was a long piece of cloth worn over the top of the tunic draped over one shoulder and around the body. It was usually only worn on special occasions and the only colour apart from white that was worn was purple. But this was for very important people not usually seen in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Adult citizen males of high status wore a personalized signet ring to make an impression in wax when sealing documents

Source 1 Statue of Marcus Holconius Rufus This is a statue of Marcus Holconius Rufus, the aim of the statue was to signify his position as a military tribune, and it shows him in military dress uniform with breastplate armour. It’s probable that he never actually wore this because he wasn’t even a soldier. His position which was voted on by the people was purely honorary. From this we can see the breastplate worn by soldiers and we can see the proud look on his face as he shows of his uniform.

Source 2 statue of Proconsul Marcus Nonius Bulbus This statue of one of the great men of Herculaneum, Proconsul Marcus Nonius Balbus shows him in the traditional Roman Toga. However this big, bulky form of clothing would have rarely worn, and really only on formal occasions. In looking at the statue we are able to see how the toga is worn and carried by the men on formal occasions. Home

Source 3 Mosaic of Frucius and two slaves This is a mosaic, of a man named Frucius. In the Mosaic we can see him being attended by two slaves, Myro and Victor. From the narrow stripes on the tunic of Frucius we can see he's of equestrian status. We can see his slaves are no where near as dressed as he is.

Source 4 wall painting from Lararium in Pompeii This is a wall painting from a lararium in Pompeii. As we can see on the man this painting shows both the tunic and the toga. It gives

Women A married women was expected to wear the stola, this was a long sleeveless tunic. Frequently suspended from the shoulders by thin straps. It was worn over the basic tunic. Respectable matrons wore the stola and a long cloak whenever they went outside. Women in all three classes wore similar styles of clothing. Although the colour and quality of the fabrics may have varied. The type of clothing worn by the poorer working women and slaves would have very much depended on what type of work they did. Not all slaves were poorly dressed. Women took pride in their appearance. They wore jewellery, wore various hairstyles and many wore makeup. Evidence include combs made of ivory or bone, mirrors made from silver or bronze a range or perfume and cosmetics containers and as assortment of jewellery including broaches rings earrings and necklaces and pins bracelets

Source 1 statue of First Empress Livia This is a statue of the first empress Livia, in this particular sculpture we can clearly see her stola. We note that her head is covered also by cloth leaving only her hands and face free.

Source 2 statue of Young Roman Woman This is a statue of a young Roman woman. We are able to Her hair pulled up and prettily adorned on top of her head. This tells us that the women had different hairstyles. We can also see the Stola worn over the tunic.

Source 3 mosaic of Primavera from Stabiae 1st Century AD This is a mosaic found in Pompeii, in it is a young women in a yellow stola, the traditional and accepted style of dress for women. After looking at this source we can see that the women were allowed to enjoy different coloured clothing. If you look carefully you can see that the stola covers only one shoulder.

Source 4 wall painting of a young women Source number four is a wall painting of a beautiful young woman pouring perfume into a small container. In the picture we can clearly see the type of clothing she is wearing. We Can see her dress, as well as her shoes and the jewellery on her arms. We can also see that the cloth which her clothing is made out of is soft and flowing.

Freedmen/slaves Both the freedmen and slaves wore similar tunics loosely tied at the waist. Freedmen and freedwomen both wore similar clothing. The basic item was a full length tunic. Working men and slaves also wore the same type of tunic. It was usually made of a darker wool, and was coarser than that worn by the upper class. They frequently hitched the tunic higher over their belts for freer movement so they could work freer and easier.

Source 1 mosaic of Janius the young slave In the first source is a picture of a mosaic. Depicted in it is Janius, the young kitchen slave. As we can see he wears quite an elegant tunic and a gold chain around is neck. We can tell from this mosaic that not all slaves were inevitably dressed in rags. This slave is reasonably well dressed Sandal

Source 2 golden bracelet of young slave girl Roman jewellery was rarely inscribed but this bracelet, which is a gold coiled snake, are the words; DOM[I]NUS ANCILLAE SUAE, “from the master to his slave girl.” The woman wearing this bracelet was found at an inn on the southern outskirts of Pompeii. As we already know slaves had to cater for the needs and wants of the elite. Chances are, the slaves were potential sex partners and being a slave they couldn’t say no. This bracelet does tell us that the some slave owners did take really good care of their slaves.

Source 3 mosaic of two slaves at work This mosaic shows two slaves working. We can see from the clothing that they are wearing that it is only simple tunics that come above the knee. They are both hitched above the knees slightly as to provide freer movements,

Source 4 mosaic of master Centurio of Pompeii In the mosaic pictured we can see Master Centurio beating his slave with a whip. In the picture we can see the slave in red wearing a simple tunic style clothing, and the master wearing a nice tunic in white belted at the waist and with a cloak he has decorative style buttons on his arm and on the front suspended from the cloak. We see the slave looking very simple and plain next to his master, who although only in a simple tunic style of dress still looks well dressed.

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