Edited by Nan Nan
Preface
It is incomplete to talk about the clothing of ancient Rome without talking about the hairstyles, shoes, jewelry, etc. of ancient Rome.
They were all an important part of Roman costume.
They reflect the changes in the social life of ancient Rome and the development of Roman aesthetics from different aspects.
Men's hairstyles
Men's hairstyles In the early days, ancient Roman men had long hair and beards.
From the middle and late republicans until the early Empire, Roman men were popular for shaving and having short hair.
Although the shaving process is uncomfortable and often leaves wounds and scratches.
Roman men also used depilatories such as asphalt and resin to remove facial hair, thus ensuring that they were shaved cleanly at all times.
None of the statues of famous figures such as Sulla, Caesar, Augustus, etc., have beards.
Wealthy and high-status citizens had their own special slaves, who were responsible for neatly arranging their hair and beards.
Hadrian was the first emperor to adopt a short beard, and many men followed his example.
After his reign, beard growth was quite common among Roman men.
Like now, back then, some men looked for ways to overcome hair loss.
During the republican period, hair waxes and oils were believed to promote hair growth.
Women's hairstyles
Women's hairstyles At first, the hairstyle of ancient Roman women was very simple, parting the hair in the middle and then combing it back into a bun, or first combing it into a braid, then into a bun, fastening it with a hairpin, or tying it into a ponytail.
At the same time, the short hair should be combed out, spread around the face and rolled up.
Later, this hairstyle became popular among wealthy women as well.
During the republican period, hairstyles were still simple, "only when married women began to coil their hair up and around the crown of their heads, did the head style slowly begin to change." ”
Young girls often wear their hair in a bun or in a ponytail at the back of her neck.
But there are also girls who have long curly hair or bangs, which are either straight or curly.
By the time of the Empire, women's hairstyles had become extremely complicated.
Wealthy Roman women spent a lot of time and effort on their hair, and the upper class women of Rome became fashion guides.
In the sculpture, Augustus's wife, Livia, is styled in a bun or bun above the brow, with the rest of the hair combed back from both sides and tied up at the back in the same way.
This hairstyle soon became fashionable and became popular among women from 25 BC to 1 BC.
From the 1st century AD, the "Orbis" hairstyle became a fashionable hairstyle.
This hairstyle consists of hair stacked high around the face on a special metal frame, which is either invisible or decorative. This hairstyle looks tall from the front, but it looks the opposite from the back.
To complete this hairstyle, it takes a large number of slaves who are skilled in hair combing and makeup techniques to do it.
To do this, use a plastic blackout brim and cover it with a metal material, paint or sheet of metal and place it on your head.
Hold the curls securely in front (or glue the wig to the brim of the hat first, then put it on the head) and the hair in the back is coiled into a bun. If the hair is not long enough, use the wig again.
Another similar hairstyle places the hair in front on the support, covering the support again and gluing the wig to it.
Among the ancient Romans, black-haired people were the majority.
At first, only prostitutes dyed their hair yellow, and later women of all classes began to dye their hair.
They liked to dye their hair blonde or red to mimic the color of Greek women's hair.
Some women also wore wigs, which were made of the golden hair of captive Celtic and Germanic women.
The ancient Romans usually wore no hats on their heads, but they also wore hats on special occasions.
If men go out in bad weather, they will use La Seruna or Penulla to protect themselves.
If there is no person in the cloak who is trapped by the sudden rain, then they will pull the toga to their heads as quickly as possible.
Lower-class people, especially those who work outside the home all day, wear a kind of tapered felt hat.
When traveling or in the countryside, the upper class men of Rome would wear a Greek-style wide-brimmed felt hat to protect their heads from the sun, a hat known as pythasus.
The old and infirm in the city also wore such hats, which were later worn by all classes of people who watched plays in the theaters.
Of course, indoors, you don't wear anything on your head.
Differentiation of shoes
Like other costumes, the style and color of the shoes worn by the ancient Romans also had a certain symbolic meaning, and the shoes worn by people of different ranks and status were also different.
In Rome, only the poor and slaves were barefoot when they appeared in public.
Originally, the shoes worn by the ancient Romans were very simple, and the "Carbatina" was the earliest shoe they worn.
This is a sandal made of a sheet of untanned leather.
"Kalseus" is a type of booty made of leather strips, which can be worn by both men and women, but is forbidden to be worn by slaves.
These shoes cover the entire foot and are formal shoes worn outdoors with Toga.
"Kalsey Mribles" are half-cut boots worn by women, similar to men's.
But it is made of thinner, softer leather, which is usually white in color.
The noblewoman's shoes were also decorated with precious stones and pearls, sometimes tied to the boots with narrow ribbons of color.
"Calseris" is usually a type of smaller shoe or half-cut boot worn by women.
Indoors, the Romans Xi wore light sandals with wooden or leather-soled soles, called "soleas", similar to today's slippers.
It is a simple sandal with a leather or rough knit sole, sometimes with flat studs, attached to the foot by a strap between one toe, or tied to the ankle with many leather straps.
Xi, it is customary to wear them indoors with a kunika, and wearing such sandals outdoors is considered inappropriate.
Sandals were also not allowed to be worn at banquets, and the master and guests wore sandals into the dining room, but once they were seated on the couches, the slaves quickly took them away and stored them until the end of the banquet.
The Romans did not wear stockings, but those with vulnerable feet sometimes wrapped their feet in wool to protect their feet.
The Romans wore a type of sock sewn from woven fabric, which could be used to keep warm or as an ornament.
Jewelry
Jewelry is not only a symbol of wealth, status, status, but also a kind of aesthetic expression of people.
In very early times, the ancient Romans wore rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other jewelry.
By the time of the Empire, the style of jewelry was more abundant and ornate.
(1) Rings
In Rome, there were many different styles of rings.
One of the popular ring styles is the serpentine ring, which comes in two shapes:
One is two heads at each end, and the other is a head and tail at each end.
There are also ring, octagonal rings, which are often set with precious or semi-precious stones such as sapphires, emeralds, garnets, as well as amethysts and uncut diamonds.
More delicate rings will use anagram and openwork work.
Sometimes, for religious reasons, the gemstones are carved with miniature images of gods.
The ring occupies a prominent symbolic position in all ancient Roman jewelry.
First and foremost, a ring is an expression of personal wealth.
In the homes of the wealthy, rings were stored in small, elaborate boxes. In order to satisfy their desire to show off their wealth, some wealthy people will have craftsmen make rings quite large.
A variety of gigantic rings can be seen in Rome during the late republican and early imperial periods, most of which reflect Idalarian, Egyptian, Greek, and Oriental influences.
Secondly, the ring is a symbol of personal status and status.
This is also an important social meaning hidden behind the shape of the ring.
Originally, signet rings with personal emblems worn by male Roman citizens were made of iron.
By the time of the Empire, commoners could only wear iron rings, while nobles could wear gold rings.
Before the 1st century BC, the Romans generally wore no more than one ring.
But then the Romans violated this moral code.
At most, the Romans wore 16 rings on one hand or 6 on one finger, and even gemstone rings on their toes.
An acquaintance of Matthias had a ring so large that the poet suggested that he wear it on his lap.
What's even more amazing is that rings are often worn on the joints of the fingers so that the seal can be easily used.
The Romans saw it as an important sign of wealth and status.
In addition to being a sign of wealth and status, rings also have the meaning of indicating signs and indicating whether to marry or not.
Because the Romans believed that snakes could ward off evil spirits and that snakes symbolized health in Roman mythology, serpentine rings were popular at the time.
(2) Necklace
There are many types of necklaces, the main ones are two: a short necklace around the neck and a long necklace up to 30-40 cm long.
Long necklaces are more popular, they are made of gold thread that is finished and can be wrapped around the neck several times or draped over the chest with a ball ornament, which is also decorated with a pendant.
Ordinary necklaces consist of a chain and a crescent-shaped pendant, and popular decorative motifs are the crescent moon representing the moon and the wheel symbolizing the sun.
A good necklace with pearls and jadeite is worth a lot of money.
Premium necklaces are rarely processed and can be divided into gemstone sections, pure gold sections, and ring sections.
Necklaces are relatively easy to wear, and the beauty of this jewelry is very different from the beauty of gold or jadeite.
Pearl necklaces, crystal necklaces, and solid gold necklaces have also long appeared.
Some necklaces consist of multiple links set with gemstones.
Glass necklaces are also common, with 170 pieces found in Pompeii alone.
(3) 镯子
In Rome, bracelets were as popular as necklaces, divided into bracelets, arm bracelets and ankle bracelets.
Some of them have the same decorative patterns and patterns as necklaces and earrings.
The snake bracelet is an extremely special ornament in Roman jewelry, in which the snake is usually in the shape of several circles, or the open interface between the bracelet and the ring is the head of two snakes, which look at each other.
There are also bracelets set with precious stones and glass, bracelets with veneered plates, bracelets made of hollow gold beads, and spiral bracelets with a lion's head as the end.
The Romans also borrowed Greek decorative motifs, such as dwarf palms, runaway dogs, leaves, spirals, and more. Armbles are also popular, with elaborate workmanship, which will be decorated with vines and leaves.
(4) Earrings
Earrings were a very popular accessory for Roman women.
Earrings of a simpler style are usually hooked together at the ends, or placed with a pendant rod or conical gemstone. Later, an earring with a shape similar to a shield appeared.
The three most popular earring pendants are stick pendants, ball pendants, and drop-shaped pendants.
The baton pendant is a classic combination of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, supported by an S-shaped hook.
The spherical pendant has a gold hemispherical shape attached to an S-shaped hook.
The drop-shaped pendant is set with precious stones.
In addition, Roman women wore ornamental ornamental hairpins, pins, jewel-encrusted buttons, and gold hair nets. Pearls are especially loved by women, and they are expensive.
Coin jewelry appeared in the 2nd century AD and became very popular in the next two centuries.
This type of jewelry uses coins as pendants for necklaces, while the use of gemstones is more common.
epilogue
As the famous French fashion designer Chanel said, "Fashion is rushed, but style lasts forever." ”
The new connotation and charm of ancient Roman clothing have made the ancient Roman shawl and Roman-style strappy sandals show their unique charm everywhere in international fashion exhibitions such as Paris, Milan, New York, and London.
With so many possibilities in life, it's impossible to predict what will be popular in the future, even for the most astute fashion designers.
However, this does not mean that the future development of clothing can be unaffected by previous history.
As we can see, most of today's clothing styles are merely reinventions of clothing styles from other eras.
bibliography
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