ROMAN TAILORING

[John M McDermott]

Grave steles show Roman soldiers wearing smart fitting tunics. Yet, just try on an authentic tunic and see how baggy it is. Anyone have any ideas as to the discrepancy? <p></p><i></i>

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi John,<br>
<br>
Since no-one seems prepared to answer , I'd like to venture a guess here. How about art? The simple need to deliver 'good-looking' art may have the same effect as the faces of most people looking 'nice' on tombstones and similar artistic products.<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
Valerius/Robert <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Ave, John!<br>
<br>
Are you sure those grave stones are showing just tunics? Could the subjects be wearing something over the tunic, like a mailshirt? There is also a school of thought that some are showing some kind of overtunic, over the mail. Hard to say.<br>
<br>
Also might depend on whether the subject is wearing a proper Roman tunic, or some barbarian thing that fits differently. (Though I'd be a little careful about assuming something like that!)<br>
<br>
Vale,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>

[derek forrest]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I followed , Graham Sumner's design for a tunic , from his book on Roman military clothing. I and over six-foot feet tall and a tunic went past my feet . when worn without a belt. I cut about a foot from the bottom and the tunic is now wearable. It does not match my view of sartorial elegance, but my eyes are not Roman. This sleeves are fine , but you have to gather a vast amount of material around your waist , and tuck the bulge inside your lorica. I am still experimenting with the skirt to try and replicate the stele. <p></p><i></i>

[Crispvs]

I normally get a pleasing array of crescent folds by hitching my tunica up at the sides after putting on my waist tie, but I have yet to achieve the effect seen of many of the Rhineland tombstones. My tunica is about three and a half feet by about four and a half feet (I'm 5'8" tall).<br>
<br>
Looking at the stones themselves, it is fairly obvious that a number of them show an apparently close fitting garment worn over mail, with the crescentic folds of the tunica itself showing below the band of sculpted mail and thus clearly a separate garment to that covering the mail.<br>
<br>
Crispvs <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

there are a number of factors perhaps<br>
<br>
<br>
the skill of the stone mason<br>
<br>
the type of tunic being illustrated<br>
<br>
and whether the quality of the woollen fabric is finer than that worn by the modern re-enactor <p><img src="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.martin/forum/mark.gif
" width="100" height="100" align="right">
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