# Did Romans really go around in just toga and sandals everywhere? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 23, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569 "2006-11-23T17:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/21 "2006-11-26T17:30:39Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] A matter which has caused much frustration for me. (Can’t find a good Latin translator.) [/QUOTE] Why not ask your resident Venus? \*Mater tui Caligae gerit. \* ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/22 "2006-11-27T01:31:10Z")
According to a book I read years ago\* the toga wasn’t just light, bedsheetlike linen, but heavy wool, and several yards in length. Even in the cold season, a toga tightly wrapped around one would be more than adequate, and the more common problem was undoubtedly maintaining some degree of comfort in spite of the warmth. \*It was a Time-Life book called _Imperial Rome_, from the days when they published more than DIY and Old West type things. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/23 "2006-11-27T11:26:32Z")
cAn’tr believe nobody has [linked](http://www.legionxxiv.org/civilianclothing/) anything about togas and other roman civillian clothing yet… ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/24 "2006-11-27T17:10:19Z")
Thanks. A picture is certainly worth a couple hundred words. I liked the shoe patterns especially. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/25 "2006-11-27T17:48:49Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] According to a book I read years ago\* the toga wasn’t just light, bedsheetlike linen, but heavy wool, and several yards in length. Even in the cold season, a toga tightly wrapped around one would be more than adequate, and the more common problem was undoubtedly maintaining some degree of comfort in spite of the warmth. [/QUOTE] Sounds a bit like the scotttish “wrap yourself in a big wolly blanket” outfit that lead to the modern kilt. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/26 "2006-11-27T19:30:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, Colleen McCullough did massive experimentation with togas and wrapping while writing her excellent Masters of Rome series and determined that a man could not wear a loincloth under a toga. Something about how the toga was wrapped around the body and supported by the left arm meant that a man could not keep the toga on AND fiddle with a loincloth if he needed to urinate, and it was unthinkable a slave would help him with such an intimate thing. > > She did twelve years of research before setting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, as the case may be) so take it for what it’s worth. While McCullough did experiment with togas, I got the distinct impression from her books that she was usinmg the results of someone else’s massive research. She herself didn’t measure all those statues of toga-clad Roman senators to obttain the true profile of the toga and how it was folded, and if I’m not mistaken she says this,. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/27 "2006-11-27T19:36:07Z")
I cannot imagine the Romans in colder places (like Britain, Germany) not wearing sock and trousers. Speaking of which, I know their baths were heated (hot air ducts in the fllors and walls0, but were private residences heated? And were the windows glazed? A Roman villa (with the open central atrium, must have been a damn chilly house in the British winters. Now, as for sports: I know the Romans wore bikinis 9one was found in a well in Britain), but did they have ordinary clothes for work? those togas must have been a bitch to keep clean! ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/28 "2006-11-27T19:38:50Z")
I’m sure you are all correct about the Roman information but I’d just like to point out that it’s not THAT uncomfortable wearing sandals in winter. Occasionally I can’t be bothered finding any socks before going out and I’ll just wear sandals. Generally this is just to nip out to the local shops but on occasion I’ve gone further afield. I find that the act of walking warms me up nicely and I don’t notice the cold too much. Having said that, I’m fairly hardy when it comes to the cold anyways. FTR I live in London which is not incredibly cold but we still do get relatively low temps. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/29 "2006-11-27T22:02:35Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] I read somewhere that Roman soldiers stationed in Germanic areas of Europe wore enclosed boots during the winter. [/QUOTE] You are correct sir, please scroll down for an excellent reconstruction of a [“Fell boot”.](http://www.thehcc.org/discus/messages/1488/4062.html?1147223947) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/30 "2006-11-28T07:35:38Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] Seems like, while it rarely snows in Rome itself, that there is freezing rain in the winter, and in the mountains, and rough weather any time. Yet we always see Romans depicted dressed for sunny days. [/QUOTE] As others have pointed out, togas were wool. Probably felled wool, too, so quite warm. [QUOTE=According to Pliny] Weren’t sandals a poor choice in cold rain and mostly unpaved streets? [/QUOTE] \*Unpaved \*streets? The Romans were famous for their paved roads. Plus Roman sandals were nothing like your modern flip-flops. Those things had hobnails! [QUOTE=According to Pliny] Something more along the lines of moccasins would be appropriate. [/QUOTE] Roman _carbatina_ were one-piece closed shoes, like Scottish gillies. There was also a more baglike closed shoe called, funnily enough, _socca_. It is where we get the word “sock” from. Roman socks, just to be contrary, were called _undones_. [QUOTE=According to Pliny] And coats against the wind, and longer, monk-like robes with hoods in the mountains in winter. [/QUOTE] They had cloaks of various styles, hooded or not, plus the toga could be pulled over the head like a hood. [QUOTE=According to Pliny] Or are the images we see all based on those put on pottery and mosaics, presumably the elite posed in their finest sunny day wear. [/QUOTE] We’ve already shown togas were’nt sunny wear. But also, I’ve seen plenty of depictions of Romans in other states of dress, ranging from nekkid (Mostly Greek copies IIRC, although in Pompeii… 😉 ) to tunics. A lot of the statuary is men in togas and women in stolas. Are there many relatively modern statues of statesmen etc. in anything other than formal suits? ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/31 "2006-11-28T09:10:01Z")
[QUOTE=zelie zelerton] I’m sure you are all correct about the Roman information but I’d just like to point out that it’s not THAT uncomfortable wearing sandals in winter … FTR I live in London which is not incredibly cold but we still do get relatively low temps. [/QUOTE] For sure. I live in a heavily Bengali area and I see (mostly older) people strolling around in sandals even when it’s sleeting. A buddy of mine used to wear always Birkenstocks inless the snow was deep enough to collect between his toes. There’s a big difference between what is comfortable to us, who have been spoiled by central heating and a big selection of warm clothing, and what is manageable by people who have grown up in a much rougher environment. Hell, I always felt I was going to die of hypothermia when visiting my grandfather in winter because he was a true old scotsman who didn’t believe in wasting money on unnecessary heating like those sassenachs who couldn’t take a bit of a chill :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/32 "2006-11-29T23:32:56Z")
[QUOTE=Septima] The toga was never worn as the only article of clothing. Under would be atleast two tunics, one being an “undershirt”, the other being the actual “clothes”. Think of the toga as a fancy jacket. The military boots are called _Caligae_, and were so distinctive as to mark any man who wore them as a soldier (which is why modern drawings or films sett in Rome showing everyone, including slaves, wearing something like them are so silly.) In fact, “Your mother wears Caligae” was a roman insult. It implied that said mother was a soldier’s whore. (That’s an anecdote by the way, so don’t quote me on it. It’s fun to use, though.) BTW, the silly things are damned uncomfortable until you develop calluses. _wince_ [/QUOTE] So Caligula was a… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/33 "2006-11-30T00:19:38Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] So Caligula was a… :eek: [/QUOTE] Caligula got that nickname because, as a boy, he spent most of his time in his father’s army camps, and was a favorite of his father’s men, who made him a little uniform with little boots. So, they called him “Little boots”. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/34 "2006-11-30T00:24:55Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] So Caligula was a… :eek: [/QUOTE] His “real” name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. When he was a little boy his mother used to dress him in a miniture soldier’s uniform and he’d dance to entertain the troops. That’s how he got the nickname “Little Boots” aka Caligula. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/35 "2006-11-30T13:43:38Z")
And don’t get me startet on Caligula’s horse, the potted plant and the three dead men. And you’re quite right, Caligula was a _boy_, so the insult wouldn’t apply to him. How clever of you to notice. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/36 "2006-11-30T13:57:46Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I cannot imagine the Romans in colder places (like Britain, Germany) not wearing sock and trousers. Speaking of which, I know their baths were heated (hot air ducts in the fllors and walls0, but were private residences heated? And were the windows glazed? A Roman villa (with the open central atrium, must have been a damn chilly house in the British winters. Now, as for sports: I know the Romans wore bikinis 9one was found in a well in Britain), but did they have ordinary clothes for work? those togas must have been a bitch to keep clean! [/QUOTE] IIRC from my Latin classes, the Romans used hypocausts. The floors of their rooms would be on stilts. A fire fed hot air throughout the underspaces, heating the floor and walls. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569/37 "2006-12-01T01:46:04Z")
[QUOTE=AtomicDog] My god. That saying now actually makes sense. “Mom” wears army boots because she got them from a solider - the old fashioned way. Which makes it a lot rougher insult than it is understood today. I can’t wait to use it. [/QUOTE] Damn. So it really means she’s a camp follower? I thought it meant she was just, you know, mannish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-romans-really-go-around-in-just-toga-and-sandals-everywhere/381569.md?page=1)