The World of Roman Costume (Wisconsin Studies in Classics)

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Summary: Costume Study A Window into Ancient Rome
Review: The World of Roman Costume outlines the components of Romandress and explains how knowledge of clothing can enhance ourunderstanding of Roman culture and civilization. The volume consists of thirteen chapters written by different authors (all in English); each covers a different ritual or social aspect of Roman dress using visual, archaeological, and literary evidence. In the Introduction, the authors give a short survey of the scholarly investigations into ancient dress. Chapters follow on different aspects and descriptions of Roman clothing: the changes in cut and draping of the toga throughout Roman antiquity, symbolism in the costume of the Roman woman, the clothing of the Roman bride, the colors and textiles of Roman costume, jewellry as a symbol of status in the Roman empire, even footwear. The book also contains evidence for costume using purely literary sources, such as the speeches of Cicero and Virgil's Aeneid. There are also chapters here which explore the geographical dimensions of Roman costume: the integration of Roman styles of clothing in Syro- Mesopotamia and Roman Palestine, for example, and the depiction of barbarians on Roman curiasses. The last chapter ("Reconstructing Roman Clothing") is the most interesting, as it contains patterns and instructions for making most of the clothing discussed in the book. The World of Roman Costume is a very valuable treatment of a subject too little examined, a thoroughly enjoyable book, and an intriguing study for general readers as well as scholars of antiquity.