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Sandals (soleae, sandalia) with open toes were the proper footwear for wearing indoors. Shoes (calcei), which encased the foot and covered the toes, were considered appropriate for outdoors and were always worn with the tog. When visiting, upper-class Romans removed their shoes at the door and slipped on the sandals that had been carried by their slaves. There were no dramatic gender differences in Roman footwear, though upper-class males (equestrians, patricians, and senators) wore distinctive shoes that marked their status. The patrician shoes, for example, were red. In terms of jewelry, adult male citizens wore only one item of jewelry, a personalized signet ring that was used to make an impression in sealing wax in order to authorize documents. Roman boys wore a bulla, a neckchain and a round pouch containing protective amulets (usually phallic symbols). On the other side, roman women wore considerable amounts of jewelry. The most frequent piece of jewelry was fibula, a pin whose basic design resembled a safety pin. Fibula was a useful clothing fastener and was often beautifully decorated. There was a preference for highly colorful, though not very elaborate compositions, pearls, gems and glass paste contrasted with the bright yellow of the gold to produce jewels of great effect and ostentation. |
