Color by Dulcia MacPherson, captions by me.

I recently presented my stola paper at An Tir’s Kingdom Arts and Sciences Championship as a single entry. You can see a video of my presentation here (20 min talk, 20 min Q&A). Since I know not everyone wants to read a giant tome, I’m going to break up important bits of my paper into a series of blog posts. All the

The stola had four major identifying features:

• Worn as an overdress
• Made of lightweight wool
• Constructed as a simple tube, with straps, round pins, or fabric knots at the shoulders, that created a “V neck” with draping.
• Worn double belted, to create an extra folded layer at the hips

The stola was popular for about 400 years (mid-Republic to early Empire), and was integral to the Roman matron’s sense of self. It gave its wearer special social and legal protections.

Note: Click here for PART I: Why Wool?,  ,  PART III: Construction, and PART IV: Timing.

PART II: Color and Embellishments

The ancient Romans loved color! They painted their walls, their ceilings, their furniture, and their flags. Their floors were gorgeous (even garish) mosaics. They adored colored gemstones, and used rouge, eyeshadow, and lipstick. Dyes for clothing were used whenever they could be afforded. That said, the ancient world looked different from a modern mall.

NOPE

Period dyes and fabrics don’t allow for the supersaturated hues we’re used to seeing. I know it’s really tempting to use saris , but that luscious emerald green… it just isn’t quite right. Check out this terrific site, Colors of the Romans. Wool takes color beautifully, but remember we’re still talking about madder, indigo, saffron… not Rit dye! And linen is very difficult to dye anything past pastel, except for indigo. Even if you do get a good color with multiple dips, it’ll fade rapidly. If you are placed in the Empire, you’ll have access to cotton and silk blends, but in general it’s still not accurate to wear a deep, vibrant color. Besides… your stola is wool, right?!?! LOL And if you’re too far into the Empire period, the stola is gone anyway.

Besides the intense color saturation, this sari has tiny polka dots. Super cute! Not, however, super Roman. Scattered patterns were used earlier (Etruscan, Minoan) and later (Byzantine), but not during the period when the stola was worn.  It also has an ornate, metallic-thread border, which only an Empress could have afforded. NOPE. Sorry, sari!

Stripes (aside from a pair of clavi, below, which have their own rules –  see my paper on clothing) mostly appear in upholstery. 

Instead, the stola was a solid color. Pretty much the only embellishments were the shoulder pin or style of strap, and the optional instita, a constrasting band of color at the hem. Since the instita was sewn in, I think it’s probably meant to be replaced when the grungy city streets have had their way. These frescos are from Pompeii.

Left: A mint-colored stola over a saffron tunica. Both have white contrasting borders. I believe the pink at the top is either a photography artifact or damage to the paint, since there are no other mentions or  examples of ombre in contemporary sources.

Below: Pink and spring green stolae (standing). The ladies are also wearing saffron and light teal pallae (shawls). Double belting is visible in the pink one. Notice the seated artist just has a tunica and palla.  At the time of the Vesuvian eruption (79CE), only senatorial wives were still wearing the stola. 

So… be colorful, but don’t go crazy! Stick to simple, period-achievable hues. 

Part III: Construction!