The Romans also commonly wore but two garments, and the hardy, vigorous life of their early days tended to keep these simple. They wore a woolen tunic for the house, only one at first, until the increase of luxury brought in the custom of wearing two or three in cold weather. Women also wore an outer robe known as the Vohs, similar to the Greek chiton. For appear ance in public there was for men the toga, a large, loose, white cloak adopted by all citizens for outdoor wear, and a somewhat similar gar ment called pa//a for women. While, however, men had a uniform manner of wearing the toga, women draped their robes in many graceful shapes at will. Shorter, more practical over garments, such as the lacerna and the sagum or soldier's cloak, were worn by those engaged in more active occupations. The torque, or cord of gold fastened around the neck, was a fashion introduced from Gaul after the conquest.
The history of fashion in the Christian era may be divided into four periods: First Period.—In the first, down to 486, the Gallic, Roman and Byzantine elements were combining to form a new costume. In the sec ond, 486 to 1300, this underwent many changes. The nobles vied with each other in introducing new fashions, though the middle class were far slower in adopting innovations, and the peas antry kept the traditional form almost unaltered down to the time of the Crusades. The third h the Renaissance period of transition, leading down to the fourth or modern era.
With the Roman conquest of Gaul came the introduction among the conquerors of the bracca' or breeches of the Gauls, first adopted for campaign wear by the Roman soldiers. As the empire went toward its end, extravagance in dress was unbounded among the wealthier classes. The women wore a sleeveless outside tunic confined at the waist by beautiful bands and on the shoulders by jeweled clasps. They delighted in wearing tunics of bright colors held in such a way that at least some portion of each tunic was revealed and brought into contrast with the others. A bright transparent veil sparkling with green and silver spangles fell from the head and a short mantle hung from the shoulders. A sort of cornet or strophium fastened the veil to the head, and jeweled gar ters bound at the knee drawers of fine linen.
Sumptuary laws were passed relating to the style of shoe to be worn by each class; but similar laws relating to the variety of jewels had little effect, since the general love for orna ments was too strong to be regulated.
Second Period.— During the Merovingian era (486-751) in France no important modifica tion of the general scheme of clothing came in. The ruder element introduced by the rough Franks gradually softened beneath the enervat ing, refining influence of Roman fashions. The Frankish women who had been content with their simple costume of a black robe, a tight fitting mantle and a cap were transformed. to Merovingian ladies delighting in gay, trailing tunics of delicate tissues exquisitely embroid ered. Their arms were still bare according to
the ancient Teutonic fashion. Their hair fell in long braids and was ornamented with fillets and flowing veils. As France acquired unity, the influence of both Roman and barbaric in vasion visibly faded away. From the ancient shapeless tunic developed the gown, fitting closely to the waist and hips and having the skirt full and flowing. This was the general principle of form from the accession of the Capet dynasty (987) down to the Renaissance.
Men's dress underwent little change down to the 12th century. The costume of the Frankish men of Charlemagne's time may be described as the approximate model. It consisted of two tunics, the outer one of wool or silk varying in length from the hips to the knees, according to the prevailing style. These were covered by a blue mantle, fastened on the right side with a clasp, and often highly ornamented and trimmed with beautiful furs and gold fringes. Head coverings of diverse and increasingly ex travagant styles were among the first distinc tive modifications; and these were sometimes combined (as also in the development of ac ademic costume) with a hood or cape falling over the shoulders.
Each century saw its own modification of these general types. It was a growing fashion in the 9th century for women's outer robes to stop at the knee and show a full sweep of the contrasting tunic beneath. In the 10th and Ilth centuries the robe was belted by a rich girdle both above and below the waist. In the llth century, too, the long train, in vain anathema tized by the Church, became extremely popular. Sleeves reached the limit of absurdity in the dress of both sexes. At various periods the leg-of-mutton sleeve was worn, and in the be ginning of the 15th century the outer sleeve widened at the wrist until it swept the ground. Commercial relations with the East were im proved through the Crusades, and new varieties of costly fabrics were introduced. The splendor displayed in armor and military appointments affected the customs of the women. Ladies of noble birth emblazoned their close-fitting gowns and surcoats. Even the dress of the middle classes, many of whom were dependents of the nobles and wore livery colors and armorial badges, acquired a heraldic character. The hel mets, decked with scarfs and mantlings, .sug gested many grotesque varieties of feminine headgear, both in the 14th and 15th centuries. As the mantles of the knights but partly con cealed their armor, so a surcoat worn by ladies only half concealed the beautiful decorated gown beneath. This surcoat was a jacket of varying shape; at one period it was only a coat without sleeves or sides; later a loose, flowing skirt was added to it, which in the 16th century stopped at the knee. The hip-girdle, of exquisite workmanship, which showed through the open ings of the surcoat, was a counterpart of the military belt worn by the knights.