Masculinity and Dress in Roman Antiquity

by Kelly Olson

Overview

In Masculinity and Dress in Roman Antiquity, Olson argues that clothing functioned as part of the process of communication by which elite male influence, masculinity, and sexuality were made known and acknowledged, and furthermore that these concepts interconnected in socially significant ways. This volume also sets out the details of masculine dress from literary and artistic evidence and the connection of clothing to rank, status, and ritual. This is the first monograph in English to draw together the myriad evidence for male dress in the Roman world, and examine it as evidence for men’s self-presentation, status, and social convention.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138932937
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/15/2017
Series:	Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kelly Olson is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Her other works include Dress and the Roman Woman (Routledge, 2008).

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction: Roman clothing

1 Tunic and toga: clothing and rank

2 Other aspects of costume

3 Poverty, mourning, and sordes

4 Clothing and status

5 Class and Sexuality

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

The reviewers were Carly Daniel-Hughes, Concordia University, Canada; Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Uni of Edinburgh, UK; Judith Lynn Sebesta, Uni of South Dakota, USA; and Kristi Upson-Saia, Occidental College, USA. I am not sure which comments come from which reviewer because of the way the files have been saved.

• Review 1

"I already know and respect Prof. Olson’s work and I am delighted and excited to see that she has committed her expertise to a new volume on dress to compliment her excellent study of female clothing in Rome… This is excellent. It is clearly the fruit of a long research project and draws on expertise and experience of working in the field for the last decade. Scholarship is up to date and vital."

• Review 2

"Currently there is no single monograph in English on the subject of Roman masculine dress…. Olson’s intention to discuss all masculine articles of dress and in relation to societal communication would provide new information and perspective while utilizing current scholarship."

• Review 3

"Kelly Olson provides us with the first full-length scholarly monograph on men’s dress in Roman antiquity. Adding to the wealth of scholarship on how gender identity was constructed and maintained through bodily performances, Olson explains how masculine rank and status was constructed, maintained, and negotiated through dress. As a whole, this is a much needed volume that collects together the evidence—literary and artistic—on men’s dress."

• Review 4

"The monograph makes a needed contribution to the study of Roman dress, and advances the study of Roman sexuality and masculinity."

With her customary insight and remarkable clarity Kelly Olson, in her Masculinity and Dress in Roman Antiquity, offers a rich and fascinating exploration of a key aspect of the language of clothing in Classical antiquity. With an eye to unexpected ancient sources, and even to the bizarre, Olson explores what it meant to be a man in Roman society and how dress confirmed, stressed or undercut the core values of masculinity. Olson is a leading scholar of ancient dress studies and this latest work confirms her reputation for excellence.

- Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Professor of Ancient History, Cardiff University, UK

 

From the Publisher