Women usually wore white shoes, until Aurelian allowed them to use red ones, forbidding all men, except the royal family, to wear the same color. The fashionable wore them very tight, with high heels, to give them a majestic appearance.
As luxury increased, the ladies became less scrupulous about exposing their persons. Tunics were made shorter, lower in the neck, and with sleeves open from the shoulder to the wrist, to display the beauty of the arm. A good deal of coquetry and grace was manifested in arranging the ample folds which fell from the girdle. The number of tunics increased, until it was customary to wear three. The last invented was a very full robe, called stola; and after this was introduced, the toga was worn only by men and courtesans. The stola had a long train, often embroidered with gold and purple. The upper part was fitted to the form, and being open in front displayed the second tunic. This gave the first idea of bodices, which soon became the most brilliant article of Roman dress, enriched with gold and pearls, and precious stones. Above this dress the ladies wore a very long mantle, fastened by a clasp on the shoulders, from which it flowed loose, supporting its own weight. It commonly rested on the left arm and shoulder, leaving the right arm entirely uncovered, according to the custom of the men. Under the reign of Nero, women began to wear silken robes, instead of linen or woollen; yet more than half a century later, we find Aurelian refusing his empress a mantle of silk, because the threads were sold at their weight in gold. Afterward a kind of transparent stuff became very fashionable. The texture was so delicate that they were obliged to color it before it was woven; and the fabric was so open, that the body might be distinctly seen through it. Varro called them “dresses of glass,” and Jerome loudly declaimed against them.
Roman fans were round, like hand-screens; generally made of feathers, and sometimes with small metallic mirrors inserted above the handle.
At first, garments were generally white; none but people of great dignity wore them of purple; but in process of time, all manner of brilliant and varied colors came into fashion. Women of rank loaded their shoes with embroidery and pearls, and prided themselves on the variety and costliness of their necklaces, bracelets, ear-rings, and rings. Pliny says that even women of the utmost simplicity and modesty durst not venture abroad without diamonds, any more than a consul without the marks of his dignity. “I have seen,” says that writer, “Lollia Paulina, wife of Caligula, load herself with jewels, even after her repudiation; not for any pompous festival, but for simple visits. The value of those she affected to show amounted to forty millions of sesterces, (more than two hundred thousand pounds.) They were not given by the prince, but were part of the effects which descended to her from Marcus Lollius, her uncle.”
The Roman women in primitive times arranged their hair in simple braids, neatly fastened with a broad ribbon, or fillet. But afterward, they wore structures of curls, high as a towering edifice; wigs of false hair, like a helmet; combs made of box inlaid with ivory; golden bodkins loaded with pearls; and fillets embroidered with precious stones.
Those who peculiarly studied decorum, still wore the plain broad fillet of olden times, and arranged their hair in simple, graceful knots at the back of the head. This style was called insigne pudoris, or a sign of modesty.
Light colored hair was most admired. Both men and women dyed it, to make the color more lively; they perfumed it, and applied essences to give it lustre. Sometimes they powdered it with gold dust; which custom Josephus says was practised by the Jews. The hair of the emperor Commodus is said to have been rendered so brilliant by the constant use of gold dust, that when he stood in the sunshine, his head appeared on fire. In the early ages, women never appeared in public without a veil; but in later times this was dispensed with, or used merely in a coquettish manner. The beautiful but infamous Poppæa always partially shaded her face with gauze, to increase the power of her charms.
The Roman ladies enlarged their eyes by stooping over the vapor of burning powder of antimony; and increased their expression by staining the eyelashes, and gently tinting the lid underneath with the same powder. The eyebrows likewise were finely pencilled. Pliny speaks of a wild vine, the leaves and fruit of which were bruised together, to make a cosmetic for the complexion: and Ovid says some women bruised poppies in cold water, and applied it to their cheeks. Martial says Fabula was afraid of the rain, because of the chalk upon her face, and Sabella of the sun, on account of the ceruse with which she was painted. Poppæa made use of an unctuous paint, which formed a crust, that remained some time; it was taken off with milk, and greatly increased the fairness of the complexion. Ladies were accused of keeping the crust for a domestic face, and reserving the beautiful one for seasons when they went abroad. Poppæa, from whom this paint derived its name, had a troop of she-asses following her, even when she went into exile. Juvenal says she would not have dispensed with them if she had gone to the hyperborean pole. Every day they milked five hundred asses, for a bath to maintain the softness and freshness of her complexion.
The Roman ladies were very careful of their teeth. They cleansed them often with little brushes and tooth-picks. Some were silver; but those made of lentisk wood were considered the best. Artificial teeth were sometimes used; for Martial, in one of his epigrams, says to Maximina, “Thou hast only three teeth; and those are of box varnished over.”
Ladies usually went to the bath when they first arose, and from the bath to the toilet. This important business occupied many hours. The attendants were numerous, and each one had a separate department. One combed, curled, and braided the hair; a second arranged the jewels; a third poured the perfumes; and a fourth prepared the cosmetics. Each one had a name expressive of her employment; hence the words ornatrices, cosmetæ, &c. Some, who were called parasitæ, were merely required to look on, and give advice; those who were the best skilled in flattery were, of course, the greatest favorites. If a curl was misplaced, or a color unbecoming, the waiting maids were abused for the fault. Juvenal, speaking to one of these women, says, “Of what crime is that unhappy girl guilty, because your nose displeases you?”