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{{Short description|Ancient Roman formal dress}}
{{Other uses|Toga (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2021}}
[[File:Tiberius Capri Louvre Ma1248.jpg|thumb|Statue of the Emperor [[Tiberius]] showing a draped toga of the 1st century AD]]

The '''toga''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|oʊ|g|ə}}, {{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈt̪ɔ.ɡa|lang|link=yes}}), a distinctive garment of [[Ancient Rome]], was a roughly semicircular cloth, between {{convert|12|and|20|ft}} in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white [[wool]], and was worn over a [[tunic]]. In [[Roman historiography|Roman historical tradition]], it is said to have been the favored dress of [[Romulus]], Rome's founder; it was also thought to have originally been worn by both sexes, and by the citizen-military. As [[Women in ancient Rome|Roman women]] gradually adopted the [[stola]], the toga was recognized as formal wear for [[Roman citizenship|male Roman citizens]].<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|p=215 (Vout cites Servius, ''In Aenidem'', 1.281 and Nonius, 14.867L for the former wearing of togas by women other than prostitutes and adulteresses}}).</ref> Women found guilty of [[adultery]] and women engaged in [[Prostitution in ancient Rome|prostitution]] might have provided the main exceptions to this rule.<ref name="Edwards">{{harvnb|Edwards|1997|pp=81‒82}}.</ref>

The type of toga worn reflected a citizen's rank in the civil hierarchy. Various [[Roman law|laws and customs]] restricted its use to citizens, who were required to wear it for public festivals and civic duties.

From its probable beginnings as a simple, practical work-garment, the toga became more voluminous, complex, and costly, increasingly unsuited to anything but formal and ceremonial use. It was and is considered ancient Rome's "national costume"; it had great symbolic value. However, even among Romans, it was hard to put on, uncomfortable and challenging to wear correctly, and never truly popular. When circumstances allowed, those otherwise entitled or obliged to wear it opted for more comfortable, casual garments. It gradually fell out of use, firstly among citizens of the lower class, then those of the middle class. Eventually, it was worn only by the highest classes for ceremonial occasions.

== Varieties ==
[[File:Toga (PSF).png|thumb|right|A toga praetexta]]
The toga was an approximately semi-circular woollen cloth, usually white, worn draped over the left shoulder and around the body: the word "toga" probably derives from ''tegere'', to cover. It was considered formal wear and was generally reserved for citizens. The Romans considered it unique to themselves, thus their poetic description by [[Virgil]] and [[Martial]] as the ''gens togata'' ('toga-wearing race').<ref>Virgil. ''Aeneid'', I.282; Martial, XIV.124.</ref> There were many kinds of toga, each reserved by custom to a particular usage or social class.
* ''{{vanchor|Toga virilis}}'' ("toga of manhood") also known as ''toga alba'' or ''toga pura'': A plain white toga, worn on formal occasions by adult male commoners, and by [[Roman Senate|senators]] not having a [[Imperium|curule magistracy]]. It represented adult male citizenship and its attendant rights, freedoms and responsibilities; traditionally given at a father's discretion to his son during the feast of [[Liberalia]], to mark the onset of puberty and legal "coming of age", at around 14-17 years of age.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=26}}; {{harvnb|Dolansky|2008|pp=55–60}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Swan |first=Peter Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=26s6CG8LffsC&pg=PA89 |title=The Augustan Succession |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534714-2 |pages=89 |language=}}</ref>
* ''{{vanchor|Toga praetexta}}'': a white toga with a broad purple stripe on its border, worn over a tunic with two broad, vertical purple stripes. It was formal costume for:
**[[Imperium|Curule magistrates]] in their official functions, and traditionally, the [[Kings of Rome]].<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=28 and note 32}}.</ref>
**Freeborn boys, and some freeborn girls, before they came of age.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Radicke |first=Jan |title=Roman Women's Dress |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110711554-021/html |chapter=5 praetexta – a dress of young Roman girls |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2022 |pages=355–364 |isbn=978-3-11-071155-4 |location=Berlin |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110711554-021}}</ref> It marked their protection by law from sexual predation and immoral or immodest influence. A ''praetexta'' was thought effective against malignant magic, as were a boy's [[Bulla (amulet)|bulla]] and a girl's [[Lunula (amulet)|lunula]].<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=26}}. Not all modern scholarship agrees that girls wore the ''toga praetexta''; see {{harvnb|McGinn|1998|p=160, note 163)}}.</ref><ref name="Sebesta 2001 47">{{harvnb|Sebesta|2001|p=47}}.</ref>
**Some priesthoods, including the [[Pontifices]], [[Epulones|Tresviri Epulones]], the [[augur]]s, and the [[Arval Brethren|Arval brothers]].<ref>Livy, XXVII.8,8 and XXXIII.42 (as cited by ''[[The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]'').</ref>
* ''Toga candida'': "Bright toga"; a toga rubbed with chalk to a dazzling white, worn by [[candidate]]s (from Latin ''candida'', "pure white") for [[Roman magistrate|public office]].<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|pp=26–27 (including footnote 24); citing [[Isidore of Seville]], ''[[Etymologiae]]'', XIX.24,6 and [[Polybius]], ''Historiae'', X.4,8}}.</ref> Thus [[Persius]] speaks of a ''cretata ambitio'', "chalked ambition". ''Toga candida'' is the etymological source of the word ''candidate''.
* ''Toga pulla'': a "dark toga" was supposed to be worn by [[Mourning|mourners]] at elite [[Roman funerary practices|funerals]]. A ''toga praetexta'' was also acceptable as mourning wear, if turned inside out to conceal its stripe; so was a plain ''toga pura''.<ref>{{harvnb|Flower|1996|p=102}}.</ref> Wearing a ''toga pulla'' at the feast that ended mourning was irreligious, ignorant, or plain bad manners. Cicero makes a distinction between the ''toga pulla'' and an ordinary toga deliberately "dirtied" by its wearer as a legitimate mark of protest or supplication.<ref>{{harvnb|Heskel|2001|pp=141‒142}}.</ref>
* ''Toga picta'' ("painted toga"): Dyed solid purple, decorated with imagery in gold thread, and worn over a similarly decorated ''tunica palmata''. Worn by early [[King of Rome|Roman kings]], later used by generals in their [[Roman triumph|triumphs]]. During the Empire, it was worn by [[Roman consul|consuls]] and emperors. Over time, it became increasingly elaborate, and was combined with elements of the consular ''trabea''.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|pp=26, 29}}; {{harvnb|Koortbojian|2008|pp=80–83}}; {{harvnb|Dewar|2008|pp=225–227}}.</ref>
* ''Trabea'', associated with citizens of [[Equites|equestrian rank]]; thus their description as ''trabeati'' in some contemporary Roman literature. It may have been a shorter form of toga, or a cloak, wrap or sash worn over a toga. It was white with some form of decoration. In the later Imperial era, ''trabea'' refers to elaborate forms of consular dress. Some later Roman and post-Roman sources describe it as solid purple or red, either identifying or confusing it with the dress worn by the ancient Roman kings (also used to clothe images of the gods) or reflecting changes in the ''trabea'' itself. More certainly, ''equites'' wore an [[angusticlavia]], a tunic with narrow, vertical purple stripes, at least one of which would have been visible when worn with a toga or ''trabea'', whatever its form.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|pp=26–27}}; {{harvnb|Dewar|2008|pp=219–234}}.</ref>
* ''Laena'', a long, heavy cloak worn by [[Flamen]] priesthoods, fastened at the shoulder with a brooch. A lost work by [[Suetonius]] describes it as a toga made "duplex" (doubled by folding over upon itself).<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=29; this lost work survives in fragmentary form through summary and citation by later Roman authors}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2001|pp=229–230}}.</ref>

== As "national dress" ==
The toga's most distinguishing feature was its semi-circular shape, which sets it apart from other cloaks of antiquity like the Greek ''[[himation]]'' or ''pallium''. To Rothe, the rounded form suggests an origin in the very similar, semi-circular [[Etruscan society|Etruscan]] ''tebenna''.<ref>{{harvnb|Rothe|2020|loc=Chapter 2}}.</ref> Norma Goldman believes that the earliest forms of all these garments would have been simple, rectangular lengths of cloth that served as both body-wrap and blanket for peasants, shepherds and itinerant herdsmen.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2001a|p=217}}.</ref> Roman historians believed that Rome's legendary founder and first king, the erstwhile shepherd [[Romulus]], had worn a toga as his clothing of choice; the purple-bordered ''toga praetexta'' was supposedly used by Etruscan magistrates, and introduced to Rome by her third king, [[Tullus Hostilius]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sebesta|2001|pp=13, 222, 228, 47, note 5, citing Macrobius, 1.6.7‒13;15‒16}}.</ref>

In the wider context of classical [[Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman]] fashion, the Greek ''[[enkyklon]]'' ("circular [garment]") was perhaps similar in shape to the Roman toga, but never acquired the same significance as a distinctive mark of citizenship.<ref>{{harvnb|Cleland|2013|p=1589}}.</ref> The 2nd-century [[divination|diviner]] [[Artemidorus Daldianus]] in his ''Oneirocritica'' derived the toga's form and name from the Greek ''tebennos'', supposedly an [[Arcadia (region)|Arcadian]] garment invented by and named after Temenus.<ref>{{harvnb|Peruzzi|1980|p=87, citing Artemidorus, 2.3. The usual form of Rome's Arcadian-origins myth has [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], not Arcadia, as Temenus's ancestral home}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Artemidorus|2020|p=254, commentary on Artemidorus's use of ''tēbennos'' in 2.3.6}}.</ref> Emilio Peruzzi claims that the toga was brought to [[Italy]] from [[Mycenaean Greece]], its name based on [[Mycenaean Greek]] ''te-pa'', referring to a heavy woollen garment or fabric.<ref>{{harvnb|Peruzzi|1980|pp=89–90}}; {{harvnb|Peruzzi|1975|pp=137–143}}.</ref>

=== In civil life ===
Roman society was strongly hierarchical, stratified and competitive. Landowning aristocrats occupied most seats in the [[Roman senate|senate]] and held the most senior [[Roman magistrate|magistracies]]. Magistrates were elected by their peers and "the people"; in Roman constitutional theory, they ruled by consent. In practice, they were a mutually competitive oligarchy, reserving the greatest power, wealth and prestige for their class. The [[Plebeian|commoners]] who made up the vast majority of the Roman electorate had limited influence on politics, unless barracking or voting ''en masse'', or through representation by their [[Tribune of the Plebs|tribunes]]. The [[Equestrian order|Equites]] (sometimes loosely translated as "knights") occupied a broadly mobile, mid-position between the lower senatorial and upper commoner class. Despite often extreme disparities of wealth and rank between the citizen classes, the toga identified them as a singular and exclusive civic body. 

[[File: Contemporary portrayal of a toga picta.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Illustration of an Etruscan wall painting from the [[François Tomb]] at [[Vulci]]. Some scholars believe this shows a ''toga picta'', largely based on its colour and decorative detail; others suggest that the straight edges make it a Greek-style cloak, and not a toga.<ref>This and other problems in identification are discussed in {{harvnb|Beard|2007|pp=306–308}} and endnotes.</ref>]]
Togas were relatively uniform in pattern and style but varied significantly in the quality and quantity of their fabric, and the marks of higher rank or office. The highest-status toga, the solidly purple, gold-embroidered ''toga picta'' could be worn only at particular ceremonies by the highest-ranking [[Roman magistrate|magistrates]]. [[Tyrian purple]] was supposedly reserved for the ''toga picta'', the border of the ''toga praetexta'', and elements of the priestly dress worn by the inviolate [[Vestal Virgins]]. It was colour-fast, extremely expensive and the "most talked-about colour in Greco-Roman antiquity".<ref>{{harvnb|Flower|1996|p=118: "The best model for understanding Roman sumptuary legislation is that of aristocratic self-preservation within a highly competitive society which valued overt display of prestige above all else." [[Sumptuary law]]s were intended to limit competitive displays of personal wealth in the public sphere.}}</ref>  Romans categorised it as a blood-red hue, which sanctified its wearer. The purple-bordered ''praetexta'' worn by freeborn youths acknowledged their vulnerability and sanctity in law. Once a boy came of age (usually at puberty) he adopted the plain white ''toga virilis''; this meant that he was free to set up his own household, marry, and vote.<ref>On coming of age, he also gave his protective ''[[Bulla (amulet)|bulla]]'' into the care of the family ''[[Lares]]''.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bradley|2011|pp=189, 194‒195}}; {{harvnb|Dolansky|2008|pp=53‒54}}; {{harvnb|Sebesta|2001|p=47}}.</ref> Young girls who wore the ''praetexta'' on formal occasions put it aside at [[menarche]] or marriage, and adopted the ''[[stola]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Olson|2008|pp=141‒146}}: A minority of young girls seem to have used the ''praetexta'', perhaps because their parents embraced the self-conscious revivalism typified in Augustan ''legislation and mores''.</ref> Even the whiteness of the ''toga virilis'' was subject to class distinction. Senatorial versions were expensively laundered to an exceptional, snowy white; those of lower ranking citizens were a duller shade, more cheaply laundered.<ref>{{harvnb|Aubert|2014|pp=175‒176, discussing the ''Lex Metilia Fullonibus Dicta'' of 220/217? BC, known only through its passing reference in Pliny's account of useful earths, including those employed in laundry. The best and most whitening compounds, which were also kind to coloured fabrics (such as those used in the praetextate stripe), probably cost more than ordinary Roman citizens could afford; so the togas of these status groups were laundered separately. The reasons for this law remain unclear: one scholar speculates that it was designed to protect "praetextate senators from the shame attached to the publicity of vastly unequal garb".}}</ref>

Citizenship carried specific privileges, rights and responsibilities.<ref>Respectable women, the sons of freeborn men, and provincials during the early empire could hold lesser forms of citizenship; they were protected by law but could not vote, or stand for public office. Citizenship could be inherited, granted, up or down-graded, and removed for specific offences.</ref> The ''[[formula togatorum]]'' ("list of toga-wearers") listed the various military obligations that Rome's [[socii|Italian allies]] were required to supply to Rome in times of war. ''Togati'', "those who wear the toga", is not precisely equivalent to "Roman citizens", and may mean more broadly "[[Romanization (cultural)|Romanized]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Bispham|2007|p=61}}.</ref> In Roman territories, the toga was explicitly forbidden to non-citizens; to foreigners, freedmen, and slaves; to Roman exiles;<ref>Exiles were deprived of citizenship and the protection of Roman law.</ref> and to men of [[Infamia|"infamous" career]] or shameful reputation; an individual's status should be discernable at a glance.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=25}}.</ref> A freedman or foreigner might pose as a togate citizen, or a common citizen as an equestrian; such pretenders were sometimes ferreted out in the [[Roman census|census]]. Formal seating arrangements in public theatres and circuses reflected the dominance of Rome's togate elect. Senators sat at the very front, ''equites'' behind them, common citizens behind ''equites''; and so on, through the non-togate mass of freedmen, foreigners, and slaves.<ref>Women probably sat or stood at the very back – apart from the sacred Vestals, who had their own box at the front.</ref> Imposters were sometimes detected and evicted from the equestrian seats.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|pp=31‒33}}.</ref>

Various anecdotes reflect the toga's symbolic value. In [[Livy]]'s [[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|history of Rome]], the [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician hero]] [[Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus]], retired from public life and clad (presumably) in tunic or loincloth, is ploughing his field when emissaries of the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] arrive, and ask him to put on his toga. His wife fetches it and he puts it on. Then he is told that he has been appointed [[Roman dictator|dictator]]. He promptly heads for Rome.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|p=218ff}}.</ref> Donning the toga transforms Cincinnatus from rustic, sweaty ploughman – though a gentleman nevertheless, of impeccable stock and reputation – into Rome's leading politician, eager to serve his country; a top-quality Roman.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|p=214}}.</ref> Rome's abundant public and private statuary reinforced the notion that all Rome's great men wore togas, and must always have done so.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=38}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Koortbojian|2008|pp=77‒79. [[Pliny the Elder]] (circa 70 AD) describes togate statuary as the older, traditional form of public honour, and cuirassed statuary of famous generals as a relatively later development. An individual might hold different offices in succession, or simultaneously, each represented by a different statuary type; cuirassed as a general, and togate as a holder of state office or priest of a state cult.}}</ref>

=== Work and leisure ===
[[File:Compitalia fresco.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A [[fresco]] from a building near [[Pompeii]], a rare depiction of Roman men in ''togae praetextae'' with dark red borders. It dates from the early Imperial Era and probably shows an event during [[Compitalia]], a popular street festival.]]

Traditionalists idealised Rome's urban and rustic citizenry as descendants of a hardy, virtuous, toga-clad peasantry, but the toga's bulk and complex drapery made it entirely impractical for manual work or physically active leisure. The toga was heavy, "unwieldy, excessively hot, easily stained, and hard to launder".<ref name="George99">{{harvnb|George|2008|p=99}}.</ref> It was best suited to stately processions, public debate and oratory, sitting in the theatre or circus, and displaying oneself before one's peers and inferiors while "ostentatiously doing nothing".<ref>{{harvnb|Armstrong|2012|p=65, citing Thorstein Veblen.}}</ref>

Every male Roman citizen was entitled to wear some kind of toga – [[Martial]] refers to a lesser citizen's "small toga" and a poor man's "little toga" (both ''togula''),<ref>{{harvnb|Stone|2001|pp=43, note 59, citing Martial, 10.74.3, 11.24.11 and 4.66}}.</ref> but the poorest probably had to make do with a shabby, patched-up toga, if he bothered at all.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|pp=204‒220}}; throughout the empire, there is evidence that old clothing was recycled, repaired and handed down the social scale, from one owner to the next, until it fell to rags. ''Centonarii'' ("patch workers") made a living by sewing clothing and other items from recycled fabric patches. The cost of a new, simple hooded cloak, using far less material than a toga, might represent three fifths of an individual's annual minimum subsistence cost: see {{harvnb|Vout|1996|pp=211‒212}}.</ref> Conversely, the costly, full-length toga seems to have been a rather awkward mark of distinction when worn by "the wrong sort". The poet Horace writes "of a rich ex-slave 'parading from end to end of the [[Via Sacra|Sacred Way]] in a toga three yards long' to show off his new status and wealth."<ref>{{harvnb|Croom|2010|loc=p. 53, citing [[Horace]], ''Epodes'', 4.8}}.</ref>

In the early 2nd century AD, the satirist [[Juvenal]] claimed that "in a great part of Italy, no-one wears the toga, except in death"; in Martial's rural idyll there is "never a lawsuit, the toga is scarce, the mind at ease".<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|p=209}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Stone|2001|p=17, citing Juvenal, ''Satires'', 3.171‒172, Martial, 10.47.5}}.</ref> Most citizens who owned a toga would have cherished it as a costly material object, and worn it when they must for special occasions. Family, friendships and alliances, and the gainful pursuit of wealth through business and trade would have been their major preoccupations, not the [[otium]] (cultured leisure) claimed as a right by the elite.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|pp=205‒208}}: ''Contra'' Goldman's description of Roman clothing, including the toga, as "simple and elegant, practical and comfortable" in {{harvnb|Goldman|2001|p=217}}.</ref><ref name="George96">{{harvnb|George|2008|p=96}}.</ref> Rank, reputation and ''[[Romanitas]]'' were paramount, even in death, so almost invariably, a male citizen's memorial image showed him clad in his toga. He wore it at his funeral, and it probably served as his shroud.<ref>{{harvnb|Toynbee|1996|pp=43–44}}.</ref>

Despite the overwhelming quantity of Roman togate portraits at every social level, and in every imaginable circumstance, at most times Rome's thoroughfares would have been crowded with citizens and non-citizens in a variety of colourful garments, with few togas in evidence. Only a higher-class Roman, a magistrate, would have had lictors to clear his way, and even then, wearing a toga was a challenge. The toga's apparent natural simplicity and "elegant, flowing lines" were the result of diligent practice and cultivation; to avoid an embarrassing disarrangement of its folds, its wearer had to walk with measured, stately gait,<ref name="George99"/> yet with virile purpose and energy. If he moved too slowly, he might seem aimless, "sluggish of mind" – or, worst of all, "womanly".<ref>{{harvnb|O'Sullivan|2011|pp=19, 51‒58}}.</ref> Vout (1996) suggests that the toga's most challenging qualities as garment fitted the Romans' view of themselves and their civilization. Like the empire itself, the peace that the toga came to represent had been earned through the extraordinary and unremitting collective efforts of its citizens, who could therefore claim "the time and dignity to dress in such a way".<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|pp=205‒208}}.</ref>

== Patronage and ''salutationes'' ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Clothing in ancient Rome]] -->
[[File:Togato Barberini.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The so-called "[[Togatus Barberini]]" depicting a [[Roman senator]] with [[Bust (sculpture)|portrait busts]] of ancestors, one of which is supported by a [[herma]]: marble, late 1st century BC; head (not belonging): middle 1st century BC.<ref>The busts are presumed in some scholarship as marble representations of wax ''[[Roman funerals and burial#Funerary art|imagines]]'': see {{harvnb|Flower|1996}} particularly the discussion of the Togatus Barberini ancestor busts on pp. 5‒7.</ref>]]

[[Patronage in ancient Rome|Patronage]] was a cornerstone of Roman politics, business and social relationships. A good patron offered advancement, security, honour, wealth, government contracts and other business opportunities to his client, who might be further down in the social or economic scale, or more rarely, his equal or superior.<ref>Cash-strapped or debtor citizens with a respectable lineage might have to seek patronage from rich freedmen, who ranked as inferiors and non-citizens.</ref> A good client canvassed political support for his patron, or his patron's nominee; he advanced his patron's interests using his own business, family and personal connections. Freedmen with an aptitude for business could become extremely wealthy; but to negotiate citizenship for themselves, or more likely their sons, they had to find a patron prepared to commend them. Clients seeking patronage had to attend the patron's early-morning formal ''salutatio'' ("greeting session"), held in the semi-public, grand reception room (''[[Atrium (architecture)|atrium]]'') of his family house (''[[domus]]'').<ref>{{harvnb|George|2008|p=101}}.</ref> Citizen-clients were expected to wear the toga appropriate to their status, and to wear it correctly and smartly or risk affront to their host.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|p=216}}.</ref>

[[Martial]] and his friend [[Juvenal]] suffered the system as clients for years, and found the whole business demeaning. A client had to be at his patron's beck and call, to perform whatever "togate works" were required; and the patron might even expect to be addressed as "''domine''" (lord, or master); a citizen-client of the [[Equites|equestrian class]], superior to all lesser mortals by virtue of rank and costume, might thus approach the shameful condition of dependent servitude. For a client whose patron was another's client, the potential for shame was still worse. Even as a satirical analogy, the equation of togate client and slave would have shocked those who cherished the toga as a symbol of personal dignity and ''auctoritas'' – a meaning underlined during the [[Saturnalia]] festival, when the toga was "very consciously put aside", in a ritualised, strictly limited inversion of the master-slave relationship.<ref>{{harvnb|George|2008|pp=101, 103–106; slaves were considered as chattels, and owed their master absolute, unconditional submission.}}</ref>

Patrons were few, and most had to compete with their peers to attract the best, most useful clients. Clients were many, and those of least interest to the patron had to scrabble for notice among the "togate horde" (''turbae togatae''). One in a dirty or patched toga would likely be subject to ridicule; or he might, if sufficiently dogged and persistent, secure a pittance of cash, or perhaps a dinner. When the patron left his house to conduct his business of the day at the law courts, forum or wherever else, escorted (if a magistrate) by his togate [[lictor]]s, his clients must form his retinue. Each togate client represented a potential vote:<ref>A citizen's voting power was directly proportionate to his rank, status and wealth.</ref> to impress his peers and inferiors, and stay ahead in the game, a patron should have as many high-quality clients as possible; or at least, he should seem to. Martial has one patron hire a herd (''grex'') of fake clients in togas, then pawn his ring to pay for his evening meal.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=24}}; {{harvnb|George|2008|pp=100–102}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Armstrong|2012|p=64: At ''salutationes'' and during any other "business times", ''equites'' were expected to wear a gold ring. Along with their toga, striped tunic and formal shoes (or ''calcei''), this signified their status.}}</ref>

The emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]], rather than wear the "dress to which his rank entitled him" at his own ''salutationes'', chose to wear a plain white citizen's toga instead. [[Caligula]] wore a triumphal ''toga picta'' or any other garment he chose, according to whim. [[Nero]] caused considerable offence when he received visiting senators while dressed in a tunic embroidered with flowers, topped off with a muslin neckerchief.<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|pp=24, 36‒37, citing Dio Cassius, 71.35.4 and Suetonius, ''Lives''}}.</ref>

== Oratory ==
[[File:L'Arringatore.jpg|thumb|right|''[[The Orator]]'', {{Circa|100 BC}}, an [[Etruscan art|Etrusco]]-[[Roman sculpture|Roman]] [[bronze sculpture]] depicting Aule Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] man of Roman senatorial rank, engaging in [[rhetoric]]. He wears senatorial shoes, and a {{lang|la|toga praetexta}} of "skimpy" ({{lang|la|exigua}}) Republican type.<ref>{{harvnb|Ceccarelli|2016|p=33}}.</ref> The statue features an inscription in the [[Etruscan alphabet]].]]

In oratory, the toga came into its own. [[Quintilian]]'s {{lang|la|[[Institutio Oratoria]]}} (circa 95 AD) offers advice on how best to plead cases at Rome's law-courts, before the watching multitude's informed and critical eye. Effective pleading was a calculated artistic performance, but must seem utterly natural. First impressions counted; the lawyer must present himself as a Roman should: "virile and splendid" in his toga, with statuesque posture and "natural good looks". He should be well groomed – but not too well; no primping of the hair, jewellery or any other "feminine" perversions of a Roman man's proper appearance. Quintilian gives precise instructions on the correct use of the toga. Its fabric could be old-style rough wool, or new and smoother if preferred – but definitely not silk. The orator's movements should be dignified, and to the point; he should move only as he must, to address a particular person, a particular section of the audience. He should employ to good effect that subtle "[[chironomia|language of the hands]]" for which Roman oratory was famed; no extravagant gestures, no wiggling of the shoulders, no moving "like a dancer".<ref>{{harvnb|Bradley|2008|p=249, citing Quintilian}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dugan|2005|p=156, note 35, citing Wyke (1994): "The Roman male citizen was defined through his body: the dignity and authority of a senator being constituted by his gait, his manner of wearing his toga, his oratorical delivery, his gestures."}}</ref>

To a great extent, the toga itself determined the orator's style of delivery: <blockquote>we should not cover the shoulder and the whole of the throat, otherwise our dress will be unduly narrowed and will lose the impressive effect produced by breadth at the chest. The left arm should only be raised so far as to form a right angle at the elbow, while the edge of the toga should fall in equal lengths on either side.</blockquote> If, on the other hand, the "toga falls down at the beginning of our speech, or when we have only proceeded but a little way, the failure to replace it is a sign of indifference, or sloth, or sheer ignorance of the way in which clothes should be worn". By the time he had presented his case, the orator was likely to be hot and sweaty; but even this could be employed to good effect.<ref>Quintilian. {{lang|la|Institutio Oratoria}}, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Quintilian/Institutio_Oratoria/11C*.html# 11.3.131‒149].</ref>

== In public morals ==
Roman moralists "placed an ideological premium on the simple and the frugal".<ref name="Edmondson 2008 33">{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|p=33}}.</ref> [[Aulus Gellius]] claimed that the earliest Romans, famously tough, virile and dignified, had worn togas with no undergarment; not even a skimpy tunic.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|pp=214‒215, citing Aulus Gellius, 6.123–4}}.</ref> Towards the end of the Republic, the arch-conservative [[Cato the Younger]] favoured the shorter, ancient Republican type of toga; it was dark and "scanty" (''exigua''), and Cato wore it without tunic or shoes; all this would have been recognised as an expression of his moral probity.<ref>{{harvnb|Stone|2001|p=16}}: Some modern sources consider ''exigua'' as a  republican type, others interpret it as poetic.</ref> Die-hard Roman traditionalists deplored an ever-increasing Roman appetite for ostentation, "un-Roman" comfort and luxuries, and sartorial offences such as Celtic trousers, brightly coloured Syrian robes and cloaks. The manly toga itself could signify corruption, if worn too loosely, or worn over a long-sleeved, "effeminate" tunic, or woven too fine and thin, near [[Transparency (optics)|transparent]].<ref>{{harvnb|Roller|2012|pp=303, "transparent" toga, following [[Juvenal]]'s ''Satire'', 2, 65‒78. Juvenal's invective associates transparency with prostitute's clothing. The aristocratic divorce-and-adultery lawyer Creticus wears a "transparent" toga, which far from decently covering him, shows him for "what he really is"; a ''[[Homosexuality in ancient Rome#Cinaedus|cinaedus]]'' is a derogatory term for a passive homosexual.}}</ref>

[[Appian]]'s history of Rome finds its strife-torn Late Republic tottering at the edge of chaos; most seem to dress as they like, not as they ought: "For now the Roman people are much mixed with foreigners, there is equal citizenship for freedmen, and slaves dress like their masters. With the exception of the Senators, free citizens and slaves wear the same costume."<ref>{{harvnb|Rothfus|2010|p=1, citing Appian, ''B. Civ.'', 2.17.120}}.</ref>

The Augustan [[Principate]] brought peace, and declared its intent as the restoration of true Republican order, morality and tradition.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

{{stack|[[File:August Labicana Massimo Inv56230.jpg|thumb|[[Augustus]] wearing a toga ''capite velato'' ("with covered head"). A knee-length loop of fabric (left) forms the ''sinus''; a smaller loop at waist level forms the ''umbo'', which functions as a pocket (ca 12 BC).<br/>''([[Via Labicana Augustus]])''.]]}}
[[Augustus]] was determined to bring back "the traditional style" (the toga). He ordered that any theater-goer in dark (or colored or dirty) clothing be sent to the back seats, traditionally reserved for those who had no toga; ordinary or common women, freedmen, low-class foreigners and slaves. He reserved the most honorable seats, front of house, for senators and ''equites''; this was how it had always been, before the chaos of the civil wars; or rather, how it was supposed to have been. Infuriated by the sight of a darkly clad throng of men at a public meeting, he sarcastically quoted [[Virgil]] at them: "''Romanos, rerum dominos, gentemque togatam''" ("Romans, lords of the world and the toga-wearing people"), then ordered that in future, the [[aedile]]s ban anyone not wearing the toga from the Forum and its environs – Rome's "civic heart".<ref>{{harvnb|Edmondson|2008|pp=33, citing Suetonius, ''Augustus'', 40.5, 44.2, and [[Cassius Dio]], 49.16.1}}.</ref>

During the reign of Augustus, the ''toga rasa'' was introduced, an ordinary toga for which the rough fibers were teased from the woven nap, then shaved back to a smoother, more comfortable finish. By [[Pliny the elder|Pliny]]'s day (circa 70 AD), this was probably standard among the elite.<ref>{{harvnb|Sebesta|2001|p=68}}.</ref> Pliny also describes a glossy, smooth, lightweight but dense fabric woven from poppy-stem fibers and flax, in use from at least the time of the Punic Wars. Although probably appropriate for a "summer toga", it was criticized for its improper luxuriance.<ref>{{harvnb|Stone|2001|p=39, noted 9, citing Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'', 8.74.195}}.</ref>

=== Women ===
Some Romans believed that in earlier times, both [[genders]] and all classes had worn the toga. Radicke (2002) claims that this belief goes back to a Late Antique scholiast misreading of earlier Roman writings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Radicke |first=Jan |title=Roman Women's Dress |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110711554-049/html |chapter=2 Varro (VPR 306) – the toga: a Primeval Unisex Garment? |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-11-071155-4 |location=Berlin |pages=578–581 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110711554-049}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Radicke |first=Jan |title=Roman Women's Dress |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110711554-022/html |chapter=6 toga – an attire of unfree prostitutes |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-11-071155-4 |location=Berlin |pages=365–374 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110711554-022}}</ref> Women could also be citizens, but by the mid-to-late Republican era, respectable women were ''stolatae'' ([[stola]]-wearing), expected to embody and display an appropriate set of female virtues: Vout cites ''[[pudicitia]]'' and ''[[Fides (deity)|fides]]'' as examples. Women's adoption of the ''stola'' may have paralleled the increasing identification of the toga with citizen men, but this seems to have been a far from straightforward process. An [[equestrian statue]], described by Pliny the Elder as "ancient", showed the early Republican heroine [[Cloelia]] on horseback, wearing a toga.<ref>{{harvnb|Olson|2008|p=151, note 18, citing [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]'s account of an equestrian statue to the legendary, early Republican heroine.}}</ref> The unmarried daughters of respectable, reasonably well-off citizens sometimes wore the ''toga praetexta'' until puberty or marriage, when they adopted the ''[[stola]]'',<ref name=":0" /> which they wore over a full-length, usually long-sleeved tunic.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

Higher-class female [[prostitutes]] (''[[Meretrix|meretrices]]'') and women divorced for [[adultery]] were denied the ''stola''. ''Meretrices'' might have been expected or perhaps compelled, at least in public, to wear the "female toga" (''toga muliebris'').<ref>{{harvnb|van den Berg|2012|p=267}}.</ref> This use of the toga appears unique; all others categorized as [[Infamia|"infamous and disreputable"]] were explicitly forbidden to wear it. In this context, modern sources understand the toga – or perhaps merely the description of particular women as ''togata'' – as an instrument of inversion and realignment; a respectable (thus ''stola''-clad) woman should be demure, sexually passive, modest and obedient, morally impeccable. The archetypical ''meretrix'' of Roman literature dresses gaudily and provocatively. Edwards (1997) describes her as "antithetical to the Roman male citizen".<ref name="Edwards"/> An adulterous matron betrayed her family and reputation; and if found guilty, and divorced, the law forbade her remarriage to a Roman citizen. In the public gaze, she was aligned with the ''meretrix''.<ref>{{harvnb|Vout|1996|pp=205‒208, 215}}, citing Servius, ''In Aenidem'', 1.281 and Nonius, 14.867L; for the former wearing of togas by women other than prostitutes and adulteresses. Some modern scholars doubt the "togate adulteress" as more than literary and social invective: cf {{harvnb|Dixon|2014|pp=298‒304}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Keith|2008|pp=197‒198}}; {{harvnb|Sebesta|2001|p=53}}.</ref> When worn by a woman in this later era, the toga would have been a "blatant display" of her "exclusion from the respectable Roman hierarchy".<ref name="Edwards"/> However, the view that a convicted adulteress (''moecha damnata'') actually wore a toga in public has been challenged; Radicke believes that the only prostitutes who could be made to wear particular items of clothing were unfree, compelled by their owners or pimps to wear the relatively shorter, "skimpy", less costly ''toga exigua'', which was more revealing, easily opened, and thus convenient to their profession.<ref name=":2" />

== Roman military ==
[[File:Imperatore togato in porfido, forse traiano, da retro della curia 02.JPG|thumb|upright|Togate statue of an emperor in [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]], now in the [[Curia Julia]].]]

The lower ranks of Rome's military forces were "farmer-soldiers", a militia of citizen smallholders conscripted for the duration of hostilities,<ref>{{harvnb|Phang|2008|p=3}}.</ref> expected to provide their own arms and armour. Citizens of higher status served in senior military posts as a foundation for their progress to high civil office (see ''[[cursus honorum]]''). The Romans believed that in Rome's earliest days, its military had gone to war in togas, hitching them up and back for action by using what became known as the "[[cinctus Gabinus|Gabine cinch]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Stone|2001|p=13}}.</ref> In 206 BC, [[Scipio Africanus]] was sent 1,200 togas and 12,000 tunics for his operations in North Africa. As part of a peace settlement of 205 BC, two formerly rebellious Spanish tribes provided Roman troops with togas and heavy cloaks. In the Macedonian campaign of 169 BC, the army was sent 6,000 togas and 30,000 tunics.<ref name="Olson">{{harvnb|Olson|2008|p=151, note 18}}.</ref> From at least the mid-Republic on, the military reserved their togas for formal leisure and religious festivals; the tunic and [[sagum]] (heavy rectangular cloak held on the shoulder with a brooch) were used or preferred for active duty.

[[File:Antoninus Pius, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (10686568905).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Togate statue of [[Antoninus Pius]] ({{Reign|138|161}}) in the [[Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek]].]]

Late republican practice and legal reform allowed the creation of standing armies, and opened a military career to any Roman citizen or freedman of good reputation.<ref name="Phang">{{harvnb|Phang|2008|pp=77‒78}}.</ref> A soldier who showed the requisite "disciplined ferocity" in battle and was held in esteem by his peers and superiors could be promoted to higher rank: a [[plebeian]] could achieve [[Equestrian order|equestrian]] status.<ref>{{harvnb|Phang|2008|pp=12‒17, 49‒50}}.</ref> Non-citizens and foreign-born auxiliaries given [[Honesta missio|honourable discharge]] were usually granted citizenship, land or stipend, the right to wear the toga, and an obligation to the patron who had granted these honours; usually their senior officer. A dishonourable discharge meant ''[[infamia]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Phang|2008|p=112}}.</ref> Colonies of retired veterans were scattered throughout the Empire. In literary stereotype, civilians are routinely bullied by burly soldiers, inclined to throw their weight around.<ref>{{harvnb|Phang|2008|p=266}}.</ref>

Though soldiers were citizens, Cicero typifies the former as "''sagum'' wearing" and the latter as "''togati''". He employs the phrase ''cedant arma togae'' ("let arms yield to the toga"), meaning "may peace replace war", or "may military power yield to civilian power", in the context of his own uneasy alliance with [[Pompey]]. He intended it as metonym, linking his own "power to command" as consul (''[[Imperium|imperator]] togatus'') with Pompey's as general (''imperator armatus''); but it was interpreted as a request to step down. Cicero, having lost Pompey's ever-wavering support, was driven to exile.<ref>{{harvnb|Dugan|2005|pp=61‒65, citing Cicero's ''Ad Pisonem'' (Against Piso)}}.</ref> In reality, arms rarely yielded to civilian power. During the early Roman Imperial era, members of the [[Praetorian Guard]] (the emperor's personal guard as "First Citizen", and a military force under his personal command), concealed their weapons under white, civilian-style togas when on duty in the city, offering the reassuring illusion that they represented a traditional Republican, civilian authority, rather than the military arm of an Imperial autocracy.<ref name="Phang"/><ref>{{harvnb|Rankov|Hook|1994|p=31}}.</ref>

== In religion ==
{{Multiple image
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| footer = Statuette of a ''genius'' of a 1st-century AD official of the senatorial class, wearing a ''toga praetexta'' and with covered head, in priestly attitude.
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Citizens attending Rome's frequent [[Roman festivals|religious festivals]] and associated [[Ludi|games]] were expected to wear the toga.<ref name="Olson"/> The ''toga praetexta'' was the normal garb for most Roman priesthoods, which tended to be the preserve of high status citizens. When offering sacrifice, [[libation]] and prayer, and when performing [[augury]], the officiant priest covered his head with a fold of his toga, drawn up from the back: the ritual was thus performed ''capite velato'' (with covered head). This was believed a distinctively Roman form,<ref>{{harvnb|Palmer|1996|p=83}}.</ref> in contrast to Etruscan, Greek and other foreign practices. The Etruscans seem to have sacrificed bareheaded (''capite aperto'').<ref>{{harvnb|Söderlind|2002|p=370}}.</ref> In Rome, the so-called {{lang|la|[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ritus graecus|ritus graecus]]}} ("Greek rite") was used for deities believed Greek in origin or character; the officiant, even if a Roman citizen, wore Greek-style robes with wreathed or bare head, not the toga.<ref>{{harvnb|Schilling|1992|p=78}}.</ref> It has been argued that the Roman expression of piety ''capite velato'' influenced [[St. Paul|Paul]]'s prohibition against Christian men praying with covered heads.<ref>{{harvnb|Elliott|2006|p=210}}; {{harvnb|Winter|2001|pp=121–123}} citing as the standard source {{harvnb|Gill|1990|pp=245‒260}}; {{harvnb|Fantham|2008|p=159, citing Richard Oster.}}</ref>

An officiant {{lang|la|capite velato}} who needed free use of both hands to perform ritual{{mdash}}as while plowing the [[sulcus primigenius]] undertaken at the founding of new [[Roman colonia|colonies]]{{mdash}}could employ the [[cinctus Gabinus|"Gabine cinch" or "robe"]] ({{lang|la|cinctus Gabinus}}) or "rite" ({{lang|la|ritus Gabinus}}) which tied the toga back.<ref>{{harvnb|Scheid|2003|p=80}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Scullard|1980|p=455: "[...] the Gabine robe (''cinctus Gabinus'') was worn by Roman officials as a sacred vestment on certain occasions."}}</ref> This style, later said to have been part of [[Etruscan religion|Etruscan priestly dress]],<ref>Servius, note to ''Aeneid'' 7.612; [[Larissa Bonfante]], "Ritual Dress," p. 185, and Fay Glinister, "Veiled and Unveiled: Uncovering Roman Influence in Hellenistic Italy," p. 197, both in ''Votives, Places, and Rituals in Etruscan Religion: Studies in Honor of [[Jean MacIntosh Turfa]]'' (Brill, 2009).</ref> was associated by the Romans with their early wars with nearby [[Gabii]]<ref>{{citation |last=Anderson |first=W.C.F. |contribution-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:id=toga-cn |contribution=Toga |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |date=1890 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |editor=William Smith |display-editors=0 }}.</ref> and was thus used during Roman [[declarations of war]].<ref>Servius, note to ''Aeneid'' 7.612; see also {{harvnb|Bonfante|2009|p=185}} and {{harvnb|Glinister|2009|p=197}}.</ref>

== Materials ==
[[File:Statue of a man in Toga, probably Appius Annius Gallius, father of Regilla, from the Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus at Olympia, dating from between 149 and 153 AD (posthumous), Olympia Archaeological Museum, Greece (14003830641).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Togate statue in the [[Archaeological Museum of Olympia]]]]
The traditional toga was made of wool, which was thought to possess [[Apotropaic magic|powers to avert misfortune]] and the [[evil eye]]; the ''toga praetexta'' (used by magistrates, priests and freeborn youths) was always woollen.<ref name="Sebesta 2001 47"/> Wool-working was thought a highly respectable occupation for Roman women. A traditional, high-status [[mater familias]] demonstrated her industry and frugality by placing wool-baskets, spindles and looms in the household's semi-public reception area, the ''[[Atrium (architecture)|atrium]]''.<ref>In reality, she was the female equivalent of the romanticised citizen-farmer: see {{harvnb|Hin|2014|p=153}} and {{harvnb|Shaw|2014|pp=195‒197}}.</ref> Augustus was particularly proud that his wife and daughter had set the best possible example to other Roman women by, allegedly, spinning and weaving his clothing.<ref>{{harvnb|Culham|2014|pp=153–154, citing Suetonius, ''Life of Augustus'', 73}}.</ref>

Hand-woven cloth was slow and costly to produce, and compared to simpler forms of clothing, the toga used an extravagant amount of it. To minimise waste, the smaller, old-style forms of toga may have been woven as a single, seamless, selvedged piece; the later, larger versions may have been made from several pieces sewn together; size seems to have counted for a lot.<ref>{{harvnb|Sebesta|2001|pp=43, note 59, citing Martial, 10.74.3, 11.24.11 and 4.66}}.</ref> More cloth signified greater wealth and usually, though not invariably, higher rank. The purple-red border of the ''toga praetexta'' was woven onto the toga using a process known as "[[tablet weaving]]"; such applied borders are a feature of Etruscan dress.<ref>{{harvnb|Meyers|2016|p=311}}.</ref>

Modern sources broadly agree that if made from a single piece of fabric, the toga of a high status Roman in the late Republic would have required a piece approximately {{cvt|12|ft|m}} in length; in the Imperial era, around {{cvt|18|ft|m}}, a third more than its predecessor, and in the late Imperial era around {{cvt|8|ft|m}} wide and up to {{cvt|18|-|20|ft|m}} in length for the most complex, pleated forms.<ref name="Stone 2001 13–30">{{harvnb|Stone|2001|pp=13–30}}.</ref>
{{clear}}

=== Features and styles ===
The toga was draped, rather than fastened, around the body, and was held in position by the weight and friction of its fabric. Supposedly, no pins or brooches were employed. The more voluminous and complex the style, the more assistance would have been required to achieve the desired effect. In classical statuary, draped togas consistently show certain features and folds, identified and named in contemporary literature.

[[File:Roman Emperor Gordian III, 238-242 CE. Marble. Acquired in Paris, France, in 1742 CE. Altes Museum, Berlin.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait bust of the emperor [[Gordian III]] wearing a ''toga contabulata'' ("banded toga").]]

The ''sinus'' (literally, a bay or inlet) appears in the Imperial era as a loose over-fold, slung from beneath the left arm, downwards across the chest, then upwards to the right shoulder. Early examples were slender, but later forms were much fuller; the loop hangs at knee-length, suspended there by draping over the crook of the right arm.<ref name="Stone 2001 13–30"/>

The ''umbo'' (literally "knob") was a pouch of the toga's fabric pulled out over the ''balteus'' (the diagonal section of the toga across the chest) in imperial-era forms of the toga. Its added weight and friction would have helped (though not very effectively) secure the toga's fabric onto the left shoulder. As the toga developed, the ''umbo'' grew in size.<ref>{{harvnb|Métraux|2008|pp=282–286}}.</ref>

The most complex togas appear on high-quality portrait busts and imperial reliefs of the mid-to-late Empire, probably reserved for emperors and the highest civil officials. The so-called "banded" or "stacked" toga (Latinised as ''toga contabulata'') appeared in the late 2nd century AD and was distinguished by its broad, smooth, slab-like panels or swathes of pleated material, more or less correspondent with ''umbo'', ''sinus'' and ''balteus'', or applied over the same. On statuary, one swathe of fabric rises from low between the legs, and is laid over the left shoulder; another more or less follows the upper edge of the ''sinus''; yet another follows the lower edge of a more-or-less vestigial ''balteus'' then descends to the upper shin. As in other forms, the ''sinus'' itself is hung over the crook of the right arm.<ref>Modern reconstructions have employed applied panels of fabric, pins, and hidden stitches to achieve the effect; the underlying structure of the original remains unknown.</ref> If its full-length representations are accurate, it would have severely constrained its wearer's movements. Dressing in a ''toga contabulata'' would have taken some time, and specialist assistance. When not in use, it required careful storage in some form of press or hanger to keep it in shape. Such inconvenient features of the later toga are confirmed by [[Tertullian]], who preferred the ''[[Pallium (Roman cloak)|pallium]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Stone|2001|pp=24–25, 38}}.</ref> High-status (consular or senatorial) images from the late 4th century show a further ornate variation, known as the "Broad Eastern Toga"; it hung to the mid-calf, was heavily embroidered, and was worn over two ''pallium''-style undergarments, one of which had full length sleeves. Its ''sinus'' was draped over the left arm.<ref name="Fejfer">{{harvnb|Fejfer|2008|pp=189–194}}.</ref>

== Decline ==
[[File:KHM Wien Zwischengoldglas Ehepaar XIa 35.jpg|thumb|4th-century [[gold glass]] image of a married couple with the husband wearing a banded toga.]]

The toga saw both a gradual transformation and decline, punctuated by attempts to retain it as an essential feature of true ''Romanitas''. It was never a popular garment: in the late 1st century, [[Tacitus]] disparaged the urban [[pleb]]s as a ''vulgus tunicatus'' ("tunic-wearing crowd");<ref name="George96"/> [[Hadrian]] issued an edict compelling ''equites'' and senators to wear the toga in public. The extension of citizenship, from around 6 million citizens under Augustus to between 40 and 60 million under the "universal citizenship" of [[Caracalla]]'s [[Constitutio Antoniniana]] (212 AD), probably further reduced whatever distinctive value the toga still held for commoners, and accelerated its abandonment among their class.<ref name="Edmondson 2008 33"/> Meanwhile, the office-holding aristocracy adopted ever more elaborate, complex, costly and impractical forms of toga.<ref name="Fejfer"/>

The toga nevertheless remained the formal costume of the Roman senatorial elite. A law issued by co-emperors [[Gratian]], [[Valentinian II]] and [[Theodosius I]] in 382 AD ([[Codex Theodosianus]] 14.10.1) states that while senators in the city of Rome may wear the [[paenula]] in daily life, they must wear the toga when attending their official duties.<ref>{{harvnb|Rothe|2020}}.</ref> Failure to do so would result in the senator being stripped of rank and authority, and of the right to enter the [[Curia Julia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pharr|2001|p=415}}.</ref> [[Byzantine art|Byzantine Greek art and portraiture]] show the highest functionaries of court, church and state in magnificently wrought, extravagantly exclusive court dress and priestly robes; some at least are thought to be versions of the Imperial toga.<ref>{{harvnb|La Follette|2001|p=58 and footnote 90}}.</ref> In the West, the kings and aristocrats of new European kingdoms styled their dress after that of late military generals rather than the senatorial order, and the toga thus did not survive the end of centralized Roman governance.<ref>{{harvnb|Wickham|2009|p=106}}.</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome|Fashion}}
* [[Clothing in ancient Rome]]
* [[Tricivara]]
* [[Toga party]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
*{{cite book|last=Armstrong|first=David|year=2012|chapter=3 ''Juvenalis Eques'': A Dissident Voice from the Lower Tier of the Roman Elite|editor-last1=Braund|editor-first1=Susanna|editor-last2=Osgood|editor-first2=Josiah|title=A Companion to Persius and Juvenal|location=Oxford and Malden|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd.|pages=59‒78|isbn=978-1-4051-9965-0}}
*{{cite book|last1=Artemidorus|translator-last=Hammond|translator-first=Martin|year=2020|title=The Interpretation of Dreams|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
*{{cite book|last=Aubert|first=Jean-Jacques|year=2014|orig-year=2004|chapter=8: The Republican Economy and Roman Law: Regulation, Promotion, or Reflection?|editor-last=Flower|editor-first=Harriet I.|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=167‒186|isbn=978-1-107-03224-8|edition=Second }}
*{{cite book|last=Beard|first=Mary|authorlink=Mary Beard (classicist)|year=2007|title=[[The Roman Triumph]]|location=Cambridge and London|publisher=The Belknap Press of [[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0-674-02613-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Bispham|first=Edward|year=2007|title=From Asculum to Actium: The Municipalization of Italy from the Social War to Augustus|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-923184-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Bonfante|first=Larissa|chapter=Chapter Eleven Ritual Dress|year=2009|editor-last1=Gleba|editor-first1=Margarita|editor-last2=Becker|editor-first2=Hilary|title=Votives, Places, and Rituals in Etruscan Religion: Studies in Honor of [[Jean MacIntosh Turfa]]|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|pages=183‒191}}
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*{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Mark|year=2011|title=Colour and Meaning in Ancient Rome|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
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== External links ==
{{Commons category|Toga}}
*[https://www.drtoga.org/ Doctor Toga]
*[http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Toga_(Nova_Roma) Toga (Nova Roma) – How to make a toga]
*[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:id=toga-cn William Smith's ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' on the toga]

{{Historical clothing|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Clothing in ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Dresses]]