Jewelry: Propriety demanded that adult male citizens wear only one item of jewelry, a personalized signet ring that was used to make an impression in sealing wax in order to authorize documents. Originally made of iron, these signet rings later came to be made of gold, like the ring at left, whose carnelian sealstone depicts a tragic actor holding a mask (see this large bronze signet ring from Herculaneum with the letters of the owner's name in reverse, for stamping on wax: M[arci] PILI PRIMIG[genii] GRANIANI). The reverse lettering on this gold signet ring from the third century CE says CORINTHIA VTVAT, "may Corinthia live" or "long live Cornthia." Other rings with a practical function were actually keys, perhaps to the gentleman's strongbox. Literary evidence indicates that some Roman men ignored propriety and wore numerous rings as well as brooches to pin their Greek-style cloaks (like silver pin with symbols of victory — a winged goddess with an eagle, laurel crown, and palm branch). Before the age of manhood, Roman boys wore a bulla, a nickchain and round poach containing protective amulets (usually phallic symbols), and the bulla of an upper-class boy would be made of gold. See this terra-cotta statue of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and wearing a bulla, and this statue of a proud mother pointing to her son in this toga (the facial features and hairstyles indicate that this statue probably represents Agrippina the Younger and her son Nero). Boys sometimes wore small gold rings carved with a phallus for good luck

Hairstyles:During the middle and late Republic and into the early Empire, Roman men wore their hair short and were clean shaven, even though the process of shaving was uncomfortable and frequently resulted in cuts and scratches. Emperors, however, became style setters. The emperor Nero (54-68 CE) affected a more elaborate hairstyles with curls framing his face and later added side burns, which can also be seen on his coins. Hadrian (117-138 CE) was the first emperor to adopt a short beard, and many men, no doubt grateful to escape the ordeal of shaving, followed his example. After his reign, in fact, beards became quite common among Roman men.

ROMAN CLOTHING: WOMEN

Women cannot partake of magistracies, priesthoods, triumphs, badges of office, gifts, or spoils of war; elegance, finery, and beautiful clothes are women's badges, in these they find joy and take pride, this our forebears called the women's world. (Livy, History of Rome 34.5)

In the above passage, Livy quotes a Roman tribune's argument for the repeal of the Oppian Law, a wartime measure which curtailed the finery that upper-class Roman women could display and which provoked the first recorded protest demonstration by women, as aristocratic Roman matrons took to the streets in 195 BCE to urge repeal of the law. As the tribune pointed out, high-class Roman women did not have the same distinctions of clothing that immediately marked out the status of their male counterparts; in fact the only certain distinction of dress allowed to women was the stola, which indicated a woman's marital status, not her social class or wealth. In addition, except for minor variations of color or fabric, women's clothing styles were relatively simple and unchanging, so they had to emphasize elaborate hairstyles and jewelry in order to stand out from other women.

Similar to Roman men, the basic item of clothing was the tunic (tunica), though women's tunics were fuller and longer, usually extending to the feet. There were two basic styles of tunic, both similar to tunics worn by Greek women.

THE PEPLOS

 The peplos was made from two rectangular pieces of cloth partially sewn together on both sides; the open sections at the top were then folded down in the front and back. The woman pulled this garment over her head and fastened it at her shoulders with two large pins, forming a sleeveless dress; she then tied a belt over or under the folds. This statue shows a Roman woman wearing a peplos and holding a glass vial for perfume.

The more common sleeved tunic worn by women was similar to the Greek chiton. Two wide pieces of cloth were sewn together almost to the top, leaving just enough room for armholes. The woman pulled this garment over her head and used several pins or buttons to fasten it at intervals over her shoulders and arms, forming a dress with sleeves which could be belted under the breasts, at the waist, or at the hips. The length of the sleeves was determined by the width of the cloth. Statues clearly show the manner of fastening the sleeves as well as various modes of draping and belting the tunic. Tunics could be brightly colored or made of lightweight fabrics such as linen or silk, as in this wall painting of a fashionable young woman pouring perfume into a tiny container.

THE STOLA

At the time of her marriage, the Roman woman donned the stola, a long, sleeveless tunic, frequently if not always suspended at the shoulders from short straps, which was worn on top of another tunic. It is probable that the stola was typically made of undyed wool. The stola was a symbol of marriage, and by the late Republic all women married according to Roman law were entitled to wear it. Not all did, of course, since it was not a particularly fashionable or flattering garment, but wearing the stola was a way for a woman to publicly proclaim her respectability and adherence to tradition. Statues of the first empress Livia, for example, prominently display her stola, even this one whose head has been lost.

As the drawing at left shows, respectable women also wore a long cloak, called a palla, over their tunic and stola when they went outside. This was rectangular in shape and was typically draped over the left shoulder, under the right arm and back across the body, carried by the left arm or thrown back again over the left shoulder. The palla could also be pulled up to cover the head, as shown in the above statue of Livia or in this depiction of a matron whose elegantly draped pala has a fringe

HAIRSTYLES:

Women relied mostly on elaborate hairstyles and jewelry rather than clothing to vary their appearance. In fact, an elaborate hairstyle is the only thing worn by this woman, who had herself sculpted as the goddess Venus (I like to imagine that this sculptor had an ironic sense of humor, since the contrast between her realistic portrait head and the prefab Venus-like body is so striking). Some of these styles were influenced by coiffures adopted by empresses, as for example the unusual hairstyle worn by Julia Domna during the latter half of the second century CE:, shown in this coin and in the two views of her sculpted head below. In fact, some lucky Roman girl of that period had a beautiful jointed ivory girl wearing a gold necklace, bracelets, and anklets, with a hairdo imitating that of the empress. This doll also proves that Barbie was not the first anatomically correct "fashion doll"! No doubt this doll's owner dressed her in elegant clothes mimicing those worn by aristocratic women.

One of the most famous style was worn by women during the period of the Flavian emperors (Vespasian to Hadrian, 69-138 CE); this is the style that Juvenal mocks when he describes the woman who appears tall from the front but quite the opposite from the back (on this sarcophagus a woman with a Flavian hairstyle proudly displays the bust of an important male in her family; note her stola as well). Numerous slaves skilled in the arts of hair dressing and cosmetics were needed for these elaborate hairdos, as were hair pins (shown here with a beautifully carved ivory box in which to store them), wigs, and hair swatches. This hairpin made of born is topped by the carved head of a woman with an elaborate hairstyle, while this one bears an inscription and originally showed the heads of a couple (the woman's head has broken off). Women also wore hairnets made of finely woven gold wires; this gold hairnet from Rome mirrors the hairnet shown on this Pompean fresko of a girl(often mistakenly labelled "Sappho"). Women also had many creams, cosmetics, and perfumes; this cosmetic box belonging to a woman in Pompeii was made of bronze and beautifully carved bone (wood portions have been restored). Cosmetics and hairstyling required mirrors, which were made of highly polished bronze or silver in rectangular or round shapes. The most elaborate had handles and relief carvings on the back, like this silved mirror depicting the myth of Phrixus riding the ram with the golden fleece.

JEWELRY:

Fashionable upper-class women wore considerable amounts of jewelry. One design that persisted from a very early period to late antiquity was the fibula, a pin whose basic design resembled our safety pin. It was a useful clothing fastener and was often beautifully decorated, as is the case with this Etriskan gold fibura depicting a cat stalking two unsuspecting birds. Since Roman clothing was frequently pinned rather than sewn, many fasteners were beautifully decorated; this gold pin has an ametist cameo with a female bust, and the large garnet in this pin has an winged Victory intaglio carving. A representative collection of jewelry from the first to the third centuries CE includes earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets and rings of gold, gems (garnets 'were especially popular), and cameos. Gold bracelets were often fashioned in the form of snakes and rings often had relief carvings, like this gold betrothal ring with a couple clasping right hands, or intaglios, like this camel. A popular style of jewelry apparently invented by the Romans was made of hollow, polished gold hemispheres fashioned into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Pearls were particularly prized and costly; this impressive gold necklace, found in Pompeii, is set with emeralds and large pearls. Silver was used less frequently, as in this medallion with chain, this bracelet with a portrait of a child, or this ring showing two snakes holding in their mouths a patera (a dish used in religious ceremonies). This silver ring has an inscription (with letters in reverse for stamping) that reads LIBERA VIVAS, "may you live free." Cameo portraits were also worn, as in this pendant depicting a married couple or in this striking gold pendant with glass beads and plasma cameos of the faces of children. Gold coins (aurei) were often made into jewelry: a gold ring with a coin of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, a pendant with garnets and a coin of the emperor Caracalla, an armband with coins of Caracalla and his wife Plautilla, and a belt made with coins of fourth-century CE emperors constants to Fheodosis . The portrait of the woman at left is one of many so-called "mummy portraits" dating from Egypt after it became a Roman province; these portraits, usually depicting only the face and shoulders, present us with strikingly individualized faces of varying ethnicities, Greco-Roman clothing, adornment, and hairstyles, combined with the quintessentially Egyptian custom of mummification. We know that this woman was named Isidora, since her name is painted in Greek on the wooden sarcophagus, and her hairstyle dates to the period of the emperor Trajan, the beginning of the second century CE.

Atelier Bassi - Wigs And Hairfashion Through The Centuries

Wearing wigs is not just a trend in the world of fashion. On the contrary, when we look at history we learn that different styles of wigs have always played a significant role in fashion. Depending on the epoch, wigs were either used to demonstrate wealth or to stress the importance of the wearer. The more splendid the era, the more eccentric and pompous hairstyles were created. Wigs also served as a protection against cold and rain. In many wars wigs were also used to impress the enemy.

In the time of the Egyptians [about 4000 to 300 B.C.] not only women but also men wore wigs. Page-boy like hairstyles in block form together with small braids were the look of this era.

During the Roman Empire [500 B.C. to 500 A.D.] wigs became especially popular among women. Hairpieces, sometimes colored, were added to increase the volume and therefore the effect of the hairstyle.

In addition to that, ideas for hairstyling were often taken from Greek tradition and wigs with braids were worn.

In the Middle Ages [1200 to 1400] wigs lost their importance. It was custom that young women wore their hair long whereas married women covered it with a scarf or a cap. This was with reference to the Apostle Paul [First Letter to the Corinthians] a command and also a sign of a woman's dependence to her husband. Only he had the right to see her head uncovered.

It was from the beginning of the Renaissance [1400 to 1600] that the female hairstyle gained again in importance and the hair was no longer completely hidden. It was often put up and arranged with the help of hairpieces, braids and golden taps.

The French King Louis XIII lost his hair already as a young man. During his reign, the Allonge wig for men was invented and became an important part of every garment. At this time, wigs were mainly made of human or animal hair.

Under Louis XIV, the French Royal House employed 48 wig makers at court.

An enrichment to the world of hair fashion after 1670 was the famous hairstyle a la Fontange, named after a mistress of King Louis XIV countless variations based on the original were created with the help of hairpieces and false locks.

The eighteenth century, better known as Rococo, was the flowering period of wigs. Wigs gained enormously in importance and were adopted as a status symbol by both men and women.

During this epoch, wigs were mainly made of Yak hair. The original hair color was natural white and with the help of rice powder it was colored white, blue or pink.

Especially from 1750 to 1780 hairstylists had a hard job to do arranging sortie of the female wigs up to a height of 90 cm/35".

Men used to wear so-called bag or braid wigs. This were wigs with two hair-roils at both sides With the outbreak of the French Revolution [1789 to 1795] fashion and therefore wigs lost their importance.

Hairpieces were once again worn around 1820 [Biedermeier] and enjoyed great popularity. The own hair was tightly arranged around the head and artistic hairstyles were created with side locks and flower like hair loops.

At the beginning of the twentieth century more and more freely arranged hairpieces were used. With the introduction of short hair cuts around 1920 this trend literary disappeared over night. In the Sixties hairpieces gained again in importance and the wearing of wigs became almost a must. Wigs were not only sold in specialized shops but in every department store. This strong demand led especially in Asia [South Korea] to an industrialization of the wig production. In this boom days of the wig, intensive research was done in the field of synthetic hair production. Research departments were successful and in a relatively short time good quality synthetic hair was available on the market-Since then, the wearing of wigs and hair pieces has lost it's importance. Just in the same way as in today's fashion the motto is simple and comfortable. In everyday life, wigs are hardly ever used except for fashion shows, parties or after a chemotherapy.

Through the centuries the production of wigs has not changed in it's principles. The only difference today is the employment of modern technology and material. However, the production of wigs for theatres and the film industry still takes place in exactly the same way as in former times: through artistic handicraft.

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