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The Toga was the most formal article of clothing worn by men in Ancient Rome, equivalent to the tuxedo today. I will present a brief (certainly not comprehensive) history of the toga which may provide you with some inspiration for creating your toga.

THE TOGA

Material: The Toga was made of lightweight wool.

Colour: During the Republic, the Toga was white. Candidates for office even used to bleach theirs to stand out. Once elected, all Roman Senators added a thin purple border to the toga. A general who had returned from a successful campaign would parade in an all purple toga with a gold border.  During the latter years of the Roman Empire togas became more complicated and varied.

Wearing: The traditional toga was very difficult to put on, however most Romans who wore the toga were wealthy enough to own a slave to assist. The length of the toga was stretched against the back of the wearer and the left end thrown over the left shoulder. The right end was gathered into a roll and brought under the right arm. This mass was then thrown over the left shoulder and onto the back. Some of this material was left to drape over the left arm, which is always kept out when standing to hold the material in place. Some of the left hand material may have been tucked into a simple cord belt.

Significance: The toga represented that a man was a full-fledged citizen of Rome and not a foreigner.  Additionally it was worn by Roman ambassadors and officials as they travelling the world and as such represented Rome's authority.

Do Women Wear Togas?

The only women who ever wore togas were girls , and disreputable women. Women wore something called the 'tunica' which was like a one-piece dress with wide  sleeves. It was made by sewing together two equal-sized cutouts of cloth to form the front and back.  At the top, the two pieces were not joined, but folded over to form a sort of cuff. The tunica went all the way to the ground and the lowest portion had a border sewn in a different colour. 

A square shawl of woollen cloth was worn around the neck.  A wide belt was sometimes worn just below the bust.

The colour and material texture varied considerably.

However modern day Toga Parties throw away most of this tradition and men and women generally wear the same style togas.

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