Stola

For the village in Slovakia, see Štôla.

Statue of Livia Drusilla wearing a stola and palla.

The stola was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga, or the pallium, that was worn by men. The stola was usually woolen.^[1]

Originally, women wore togas 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, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to wear a toga; wearing the male garment was associated with prostitution and adultery.^[2]^[3]

History

The stola was a staple of fashion in ancient Rome spanning from the early Roman Republic through the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire into the first millennium.

A well-known image of the stola is the one worn by the Statue of Liberty in New York City.

Description

The stola was a long, pleated dress, worn over an undergarment called a tunic or tunica intima (the Roman version of a slip). 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 ribbons, and typically had two belts. The first was worn just below the breasts creating a great number of folds. The second and wider belt was worn around the waist.

Stolas were generally made of fabrics like linen or wool, but a wealthy woman could be seen wearing a stola made of silk. The stola was worn as a symbol and represented a woman's marital status.

Limbus

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.

Varieties

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 instita was often used around the neckline and hem as a display of wealth.

References

↑ Sebesta, Judith; Bonfante, Larissa (1994). The World of Roman Costume. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 48.
↑ McGinn, Thomas A. (1998). Prostitution, sexuality, and the law in ancient Rome. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. p. 340. ISBN 0-19-508785-2. …through conviction under the law was cast as a prostitute, most visibly through imposition of the label of the toga, the prostitute's badge of shame.
↑ http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Toga.html

External links

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

Historical clothing

Periods

Ancient	Egyptian Biblical Greek Roman Han Chinese Indian

Middle Ages	Anglo-Saxon Byzantine English Europe 400s–1000s 1100s 1200s 1300s 1400s Ottoman

1500s–1820s Western fashion	1500–1550 1550–1600 1600–1650 1650–1700 1700–1750 1750–1775 1775–1795 1795–1820 1820s

1830s–1910s Western fashion	Victorian 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

1920s–1980s Western fashion	1920s 1930–1945 1945–1959 1960s 1970s 1980s

1990–present	1990s 2000s 2010s