10 Best Leggings Ever

Best Leggings Ever in 2023

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Togas, Tunics and What Greeks and Romans Really Wore

Helpful advice for providing authentic costumes for Church plays

Costume customers sometimes make me laugh and sometimes make me cringe. I have people coming in with plans to go to a "70s party" who are on the look out for a poodle skirt (50s era). I have others who rent Rennaisance style dresses to go a "Charles Dickens Party." Costume manufacturers do not help. One produces a white cotton bonnet that is labelled as Pilgrim/Little House on the Prairie Bonnet. I have seen flapper dresses advertised as "Wild West Saloon Girl/20s Flapper Girl Dress."

With all this misinformation, I cannot blame the customers who come in when Christmas and Easter pageants are in season. I regularly find myself faced by the most sincere of individuals on the lookout for a "Roman style toga." They are adamant that they do not want "a Greek toga." Often they will tell me they are playing a Roman soldier in the Christmas or Easter pageant at their church and want "a toga like the one Roman soldiers would have worn in Jesus' time." I find myself at a loss. Their phrasing indicates they are looking for my guidance, but what I have to say is more than they want to hear. Besides, my answer makes me sound either like a snob or a smart eleck.

To begin, Greeks did not wear togas. Of course, it's easy to be confused in a costume shop where many manufacturers produce costumes that are labeled "Greek togas." Greek men mostly wore a tunic. It was a knee-length shirt made out of wool or linen. Often, it was worn only over one shoulder. Over the tunic, they wore a wool cloak during cold weather. The cloak could also double as a blanket. Their legs were bare and they wore leather sandals, or went barefoot.

Greek women wore a large piece of wool or linen wrapped around them and pinned in various ways to make it stay. The ways in which the cloth was pinned varied in different eras and different locales. These dresses always were ankle-length. Women also used wool cloaks/blankets for warmth. There were no togas in Greece.

Roman soldiers wore standard issue clothing. Even back in Roman times, uniforms were important. The basic clothing of the soldier consisted of the Tunica which was a sort of undergarmet. The next layer of clothing was a cloak worn over the tunica. On his feet, every soldier wore of a pair of Caligae. These were extremely heavy boots made for marching. The soldier would also have a sarcina which was a pack for carrying all his supplies when the soldier was on the move. When full, the sarcina weighed about 50 pounds. In addition to the "clothing" was the defensive equipment a soldier would wear into battle. This included the Lorica, or breastplate. It was designed to protect from a frontal attack. On his head, the soldier wore the Galea. That's simply Latin for helmet. It was designed to prevent crushing blows to the head and face.

So who wore togas? Togas were only worn by Roman citizens. Foreigners and slaves were not permitted to wear them. They were not worn outside the city of Rome. A real toga was a 6 to 7 foot semi circle of cloth which would be wrapped around the wearer in a prescribed manner. It was draped over the arm when walking and was a status symbol of the Roman citizen. No citizen would be seen in public unless wearing a toga. To do so would risk being mistaken for a slave.

It's no wonder there is so much confusion among those looking for costumes. Many packaged costumes label themselves as togas. A real toga was a 6-7 foot long semi-circle of cloth that was worn wrapped in a rather prescribed fashion. It was draped over the arm when walking and was a status symbol of Rome. No citizen would go out not wearing his toga lest he be mistaken for a slave. If you are interested in instruction on how to wear a toga, there are instructions in many places on line. Like putting on a real Scottish kilt or a Japanese kimono, there is a fixed method and an art to putting on and wearing a toga.

Members of the Roman senate could have togas with a stripe of purple. The emperor would wear a pure purple toga. Those running for the senate would often attempt to make their togas look especially white by covering them with chalk. Candida is a Latin word meaning "clear and white." It is from this practice that we get the word "candidate." Interestingly, candida usually refers to "clear and white" when talking about quartz-like objects, rather than chalky white.

The next time you take part in a Passion Play, you'll know that the one thing you do not need is a toga. If your goal is to attend a toga party at a fraternity, know that bed sheets are just fine.