---
node: fashion_roman_republic
type: fashion
slug: roman_republic_fashion
title: "Fashion in the Roman Republic"
lead: "The toga was central to Republican Roman dress: a wool garment the male citizen wore in public, and the purple-bordered toga praetexta of magistrates and boys marked rank."
published: 2026-07-28
updated: 2026-07-28
change: "Created as a fashion sub-page under the history section (italy region)"
requester: internal
reason: "Per the owner's decision, fashion lives under each history era"
---

## Overview

Dress was a language of rank and citizenship, and sumptuary laws such as the lex Oppia sought to curb display.

## Key garments and style

Men wore a wool tunic under the toga: the plain white toga virilis for adult citizens, the purple-bordered toga praetexta for magistrates and freeborn boys. A married woman's formal dress was the long stola over a tunic.

## Transition

Under the Empire, luxury textiles such as silk from the East flowed in and dress grew more elaborate.