ABSTRACT

This chapter describes basic items of clothing worn by Roman men: different types of jewelry which indicate rank, for instance, hats and leggings, and the different types of cloaks and capes which were worn by all members of Roman society. It gathers together evidence for the other elements of male dress. Some of these encapsulated rank: the bulla, the gold ring of the eques, calcei, while some were essentially classless: undergarments, cloaks, mantles, and capes. The garment of the everyday man, it also marked one's status as an member of the intelligentsia, well-versed in Greek culture and the uses of otium. Even the anulus aureus, which was supposed to be assumed by the equestrian alone in the imperial period, was counterfeited in gold and iron and worn by those outside this rank as a mark of status.