What did roman empresses wear?

Answer 1

Roman empresses wore the attires of Roman rich women: the stola. Empresses were simply the wives of the emperors. women were excluded from politics and were not supposed to exercise power. The only exceptions to this were Liva (the wife of Augustus) Messalina and Agrippina the Younger (wives of Claudius) and Theodora (the wife of Justinian I).

The stola was two rectangular segments of cloth joined at the side by fibulae and buttons with the garment draping freely over the front. it was worn over a tunic. A palla was also worn. This was a sort of shawl made of an oblong piece of material which, a bit like a shawl, was draped over the left shoulder, under the right arm, and then over the left arm. It could be with or without hood.

The stola was often made of undyed wool and therefore off-white, but could also be coloured. The tunics could be brightly coloured and made of lightweight fabrics such as linen or silk. A wide ornamental border (instita) on the lower hem of a white tunic or stola was a marker of wealth.