The lifestyle of the Romans is different and similar to the modern one. Although not much is known about the Romans, the culture is fascinating and still remembered in history. Clothes, food, customs and leisure are important in the Roman lifestyle. During the Ancient Roman period, clothing was crucial to citizens' status as emperor, rich, middle class, poor, or slave. The emperor would wear the toga trabea, which was "formal differences in togas denoting social rank" (Roman dress). The emperor himself wore a toga with a purple stripe to show his status. As emperor, he would also have worn the latus clavus, the webbed tunic, and the webbed toga. For wealthy citizens, "it was simply deemed improper for a Roman citizen of such repute (wealth) to be seen in public without his toga" (Roman Dress). The wealthy class had so much money that the toga they wore was of the finest material and richly embroidered. Since politicians were rich, they ran for office, so they whitened their robes with chalk to stand out. This is why some are known as candidates or “the white ones.” As a bourgeois, “anyone who did not want to be seen as a slave or a worker in Rome had to be seen in a toga” (Roman Dress). The middle class had more money, so they could purchase beautiful togas and tunics that promoted them as middle class citizens. These people normally wore the toga vivilis, the toga pure or the toga libera. Basically “the toga was a large blanket, draped over the body, leaving one arm free” (Roman dress). Since only the citizens of Rome could wear the toga, the poor were the lowest class to wear it. The poor class could also wear the toga, but the material was not so white and made of cheap wool. “Because sl...... middle of paper ...... nature and lifestyle have shaped today's history, whether we recognize it or not. Works cited “Ancient Mediterranean religions”. Encyclopedia of food and culture. Ed. Solomon H. Katz. Sons of Charles Scribner, 2003. Web. 27 February 2014. Marks, Anthony and Graham Tingay. Romans. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 2003. Print. “Roman Dress.” Illustrated history of the Roman Empire. Np, 8 June 2008. Web. 27 February 2014. Rome tourist guide. “Roman Colosseum”. Roman.info, Colosseum in Rome. Rome Tourist Office, 2003. Web. 27 February 2014. http://www.rome.info/colosseum.Us History. "Gladiators, chariots and Roman games". Ushistory.org IndependenceHall Association, 2008. Web. February 27, 2014. http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6e.asp. “Religions of the World”. Ancient Greece and Rome, Religions of. Ed. Linda Holler.Greenhaven. Print, 2007. Web. 27 February. 2014.