The stola was the traditional garment of Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 women, corresponding to the toga

Toga

The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...

, or the pallium

Pallium (Roman cloak)

The pallium was the Roman cloak that was worn by both men and women . It was a rectangular piece of cloth, square in form, as was the himation in ancient Greece...

, that were worn by men.

Originally, women wore toga

Toga

The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...

s as well, but after the 2nd century BC, the toga was worn exclusively by men, and women were expected to wear the stola. At that point in time, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to wear a toga; wearing the male garment was associated with prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

.

Description

The stola was a long, pleated dress, worn over an undergarment called a tunic

Tunic

A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...

or tunica intima (the Roman version of a slip

Slip (clothing)

Slip is a woman's undergarment worn beneath a dress or skirt to help it hang smoothly and to prevent chafing of the skin from coarse fabrics such as wool...

). The stola was generally sleeveless but versions of it did have short or long sleeves. These sleeves could belong to the stola itself or be a part of the tunic. The traditional sleeveless stola was fastened by clasps at the shoulder called fibulae. The stola was typically girt with ribbon

Ribbon

A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...

s, and typically had two belts. The first was worn just below the breasts creating a great amount of folds. The second and wider belt was worn around the waist. The stola was frequently worn with a long shawl

Shawl

A shawl is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, that is often folded to make a triangle but can also be triangular in shape...

-like garment called a palla

Palla (garment)

Palla is a traditional ancient Roman mantle worn by women, fastened by brooches.  It was similar to the pallium that a man would wear. The shape was rectangular instead of semi-circular as with the traditional toga.The Palla was similar to a shawl that a woman of today would wear.The palla would...

. It was worn when women went outside and typically went over one shoulder and draped across the body. It could also be pulled up over the head as a shawl. Only male citizens of Rome were allowed to wear togas.

The stola was worn as a symbol and represented a woman's social status

Social status

In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....

. Stolas were generally made of fabrics like cotton or wool, but a wealthy woman could be seen wearing a stola made of silk.

A wealthier woman might also have added a limbus to her stola. A limbus was a separate piece of fabric with many folds that was sewn into the hem of the stola creating the appearance of another gown being worn beneath. This created the illusion of layers; a symbol of wealth and status.

Stolas were made in a variety of colors including red, yellow, and blue. Decorations were also added to the neckline and hem. For common women, these would be a simple band of color or pattern. For wealthier women, more details and embellishments were used. A wide ornamental border called an institia was often used around the neckline and hem as a display of wealth.

Although the stola was a Roman garment, it was inspired by the clothing of ancient Greece. It was a staple of fashion in ancient Rome spanning from the early Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 through the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 and Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 into the first millennium. Probably the most noted image of the stola resides on the fact that it is the garment that the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

wears.

External links

• Stola (article in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities)
• How to make a stola