The Roman Matron
“What will a girl do with no fear to safeguard her, when there is Rome to act as a role model in her luxury?”
Propertius, Elegies, 3.12
The portrait of this Roman woman once belonged to a full-length statue. The palla (mantle) covering her head would have continued down her back and over her stola (dress). Roman literature suggests that this was the dress worn in public by respectable women not tempted by luxuria.
The traditional stola was a garment that reflected a woman’s pudicitia (modesty and chastity) and fides (trustworthiness and honesty). Its hemline covered a woman’s ankles. However, like the male toga, it was cumbersome and may have been worn only on ceremonial occasions.