Imperial Toga

This is a version of a toga from the Roman Imperial period. The design was taken from a The World of Roman Costume, Copyright 1994, that I located in the University of Cincinnati Classics Library. The white section, the toga itself, is a simple white 100% cotton fabric. The red 100% cotton fabric is an added detail that I liked, but not historically accurate. Originally the red fabric was to provide a border to the toga itself (but I ran out of time).

I began with a rectangular piece of fabric which was folded in half. From the halfway mark I made two equally angled diagonal cuts to the edge of the fabric, thus making a trapezoidal shape on one half of the fabric. The other half was rounded about the edges, with a broader cut. When the trim was to be placed on it would have followed the outside edge of the trapezoidal side creating a red line that draped across the body.

To vest the toga, one third of the material was gathered in folds, and draped over the left side of the body. Then an assistant pulled the other side around the midsection and under the right arm. Then the final third of the toga was draped over the original third and falling down the back. For my own purposes, I draped the red fabric over the right shoulder, but this took away the line which was originally supposed to follow the folds.

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