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.
And here is my cute boy trying to get to me through the back door.
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