I decided (once again) that I needed some cooler garb for the summer. This seems to be a never ending quest, but I’m a bit closer to attaining it with this garb.
I wanted to do some Roman garb and decided to do a Patrician Roman Matron from the time of the Pax Romana. Also, I had been watching way too much of HBO’s Rome and needed some new fancy. This outfit was the first I’ve ever entered into an official A&S Tournament. I got a lot of good feedback from the experience and it was actually pretty fun.
This garb was mostly made from materials I had on hand or that were acquired inexpensively from JoAnn’s.
My Tunica is made from some muslin left over from a school project. I added a gold silk stripe to the top to make it more expensive looking and because Tunica often had a decoration at the top.
The Tunica is made of two rectangles of fabric, the front rectangle is about 4 inched wider than the back to give it a V in the front neckline.
Here is the tunica belted the way it is worn under the stola.
According to the laurels judging my entry, I should have a second tunica beneath this one as my undergarment. I have not made that yet, but it is in the works.
The stola is made from the remainder of a linen/rayon blend at Joann’s. The straps of the stola and the stripe at the bottom are made from some more silk. It is belted with a green cord.
The stola was worn by married women from about 100 BCE to about 100 CE. It had a deep V in the front, which I made by making the front rectangle wide than the back, just like the tunica, although this one is about 8 inches wider.
It should be floor length and I am planning on adding more fabric to the bottom edge.
My headdress is known as a Vittae and is a long tube of wool wound around my head several times. The Vittae were worn by married women and also during religious ceremonies.
Finally, I used a piece of sheer sari material for the Palla. It is about eleven feet long and has a gold band on one edge. It came that way, but the design was reminiscent of Roman design.
If you are really looking for something to do, you can read my A&S entry paper about my garb below.
Easy Roman Garb Class.ppt – View Download