How to Tie a Greek Toga

The toga is a cloak-like form of clothing associated with ancient Rome, where they were made out of wool and worn as a more formal sort of dress.


Nowadays, togas are typically limited to college toga parties and Halloween get-togethers, which can lend itself to poorly tied togas of the bedsheet variety which tend to fall off at inopportune moments. Thankfully, tying a toga is a fairly simple process that shouldn't take more than a few minutes and a little careful tucking and pinning.

Keep in mind that these instructions refer to a simple costume toga and not the more complicated and authentic togas worn by the Greek and Romans. A toga of that intricacy involves a lot more measuring and shaping than most people are willing to deal with. This method makes a toga that appears very similar to the Arringatore toga, but requires less preparation of the fabric itself.

Things You'll Need

• 4 - 6 yard length of fabric
• safety pins

Instructions

1. 

   Wrap the fabric around your waist a couple of times -- the exact number will depend largely on your own girth and the length of your fabric. You want it to be high enough that it hits your chest, but not so high that it restricts the motion of your arms.

   You may choose to pin it at this point for extra assurance that it won't fall off.

2. 

   Throw the fabric over your shoulder, leaving some of it draped artistically in front so you aren't tying your arms down.

3. 

   At this point, the Arringatore toga just hangs in the back. However, you will probably want to secure yours further. You can do this by bringing it back around to the front and either holding it or tucking it into the fabric at your waist, pinning if you feel so inclined.

Tips & Warnings

• The Romans and Greeks often wore tunics underneath their togas. You don't have to go to all the trouble to construct a tunic if you don't want to, but you will certainly want to wear some kind of shorts underneath. You may even want a T-shirt as well if you are worried about exposing your chest.