Editing Roman Empire (section)

===Clothing===
{{Main|Clothing in ancient Rome}}
{{Further|Roman hairstyles|Roman jewelry|Cosmetics in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Statua togata, dalla palestra di foruli (civitatomassa), età claudia.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Togate statue in the [[Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo]]]]
In a status-conscious society like that of the Romans, clothing and personal adornment indicated the etiquette of interacting with the wearer.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=230}} Wearing the correct clothing reflected a society in good order.<ref name="coon">{{Cite book |last=Coon |first=Lynda L. |title=Sacred Fictions: Holy Women and Hagiography in Late Antiquity |date=1997 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |pages=57–58}}</ref> There is little direct evidence of how Romans dressed in daily life, since portraiture may show the subject in clothing with symbolic value, and surviving textiles are rare.<ref name=bieber/><ref>{{Harvp|Vout|2009|pp=204–220, especially 206, 211}}; {{Cite book |last=Métraux |first=Guy P.R. |chapter=Prudery and ''Chic'' in Late Antique Clothing |date=2008 |title=Roman Dress and the Fabrics of Roman Culture |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=286}}</ref>

The [[toga]] was the distinctive national garment of the male citizen, but it was heavy and impractical, worn mainly for conducting political or court business and religious rites.{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=216}}<ref name="bieber">{{Cite journal |last=Bieber |first=Margarete |date=1959 |title=Roman Men in Greek Himation ''(Romani Palliati)'' a Contribution to the History of Copying |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=374–417}}</ref> It was a "vast expanse" of semi-circular white wool that could not be put on and draped correctly without assistance.{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=216}} The drapery became more intricate and structured over time.{{Sfnp|Métraux|2008|pp=282–283}} The ''toga praetexta'', with a [[Tyrian purple|purple or purplish-red]] stripe representing inviolability, was worn by children who had not come of age, [[Executive magistrates of the Roman Empire|curule magistrates]], and state priests. Only the emperor could wear an all-purple toga (''toga picta'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cleland |first=Liza |title=Greek and Roman Dress from A to Z |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |page=194}}</ref>

Ordinary clothing was dark or colourful. The basic garment for all Romans, regardless of gender or wealth, was the simple sleeved [[tunic]], with length differing by wearer.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=231}} The tunics of poor people and labouring slaves were made from coarse wool in natural, dull shades; finer tunics were made of lightweight wool or linen. A man of the senatorial or equestrian order wore a tunic with two purple stripes (''clavi'') woven vertically: the wider the stripe, the higher the wearer's status.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=231}} Other garments could be layered over the tunic. Common male attire also included cloaks, and in some regions, [[braccae|trousers]].{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=218}} In the 2nd century, emperors and elite men are often portrayed wearing the [[Pallium (Roman cloak)|pallium]], an originally Greek mantle; women are also portrayed in the pallium. [[Tertullian]] considered the pallium an appropriate garment both for Christians, in contrast to the toga, and for educated people.<ref name=coon/><ref name=bieber/><ref>[[Tertullian]], ''De Pallio'' 5.2</ref>

Roman clothing styles changed over time.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=232}} In the [[Dominate]], clothing worn by both soldiers and bureaucrats became highly decorated with geometrical patterns, stylized plant motifs, and in more elaborate examples, human or animal figures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=D'Amato |first=Raffaele |title=Roman Military Clothing (3): AD 400–640 |date=2005 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=1-8417-6843-X |pages=7–9}}</ref> Courtiers of the later Empire wore elaborate silk robes. The militarization of Roman society, and the waning of urban life, affected fashion: heavy military-style belts were worn by bureaucrats as well as soldiers, and the toga was abandoned,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wickham |first=Chris |title=The Inheritance of Rome |date=2009 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-6700-2098-0 |page=106}}</ref> replaced by the pallium as a garment embodying social unity.{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=217}}