Bibliography: Roman clothing

Seen on History of the Ancient World, this paper that addresses Roman clothing in general, using Pompeii as a reccurent example.

Organisation of the Roman Clothing and Textile Industry: Skill, Occupation, and the Gender-Segmented Workforce

By Marjorie Jerrard

Monash University Working Paper (2000)

Abstract: The Roman textile and clothing industry was organised into a public and a private sector, however, the division was not on a contract basis. Instead, ‘private’ denoted the manufacture of cloth and articles of clothing undertaken domestically, usually by women, and ‘public’ denoted that done commercially by (usually) male waged craftsmen and labourers in workshops or ‘factories’. The industry therefore provides an ancient example of the gendered division of labour. This pattern of organisation has a major effect on the issue of control in the industry, particularly at the micro-organisational level of the workplace. This paper draws on ancient evidence to demonstrate that the pattern of industrial relations in the Roman clothing and textile industry exhibits a number of characteristics common to the modern industry.

The full paper is readable there

Dall'antica Pompei un tessuto resistente quanto un giubbotto antiproiettile

Here's a curious tale from the Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Italian archaeologists digging at Pompeii have discovered fragments of cloth that they believe were soft and durable enough to be comparable to modern flak jackets!