---
node: garment_tunica
type: garment
slug: tunica
title: "Tunica"
lead: "The tunica is the basic Roman garment, a simple knee-length tunic of two sewn cloth panels worn belted by nearly everyone. Stripes and length quietly marked the wearer's rank."
published: 2026-08-09
updated: 2026-08-09
image_file: tunica.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fresco_with_a_meal_preparation_(51357506553).jpg"
image_author: "Tyler Bell"
image_license: "CC BY 2.0"
---

## Overview

A tunica is a plain tunic sewn from two rectangles of wool or linen, slipped over the head and gathered at the waist with a belt. It was the everyday dress of men and women, worn alone by workers and under the toga or stola by the well-to-do.

## How it is worn

It is pulled on and bloused over a belt to adjust the length, longer for women and for formal wear, shorter and hitched up for labour or soldiering. Vertical stripes called clavi ran from the shoulders, their width and colour signalling status.

## History

The tunica was worn throughout Roman history and across the classes; the broad purple stripe (latus clavus) marked senators and the narrow stripe the equestrians. As the toga receded, longer, more decorated tunics became the principal garment of late antiquity.