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Monday, September 8, 2008

Roman Ruins : Part 3 - HARANGUS ADNAUSEUM & LICENTIUS CAESAR

Harangus is the epitome of a successful senator. He is a multifaceted man - part politician and part philosopher, but all Roman. As a military tribune, years ago, he stormed the shores of Normandy. . . and conquered the Normans. Harangus owns a considerable amount of land in and around Rome, but he does not crave wealth and property. He holds closely to Stoic philosophy, maintaining complete control over his emotions and eliminating all wants and desires. If given the opportunity, he will expound on the virtues of Stoicism for days on end, as he did in his now-infamous, three-day oration, "It's my party, and I'll be Stoic if I want to."
[extracted from character description in the Guest List]
Costume Suggestion: Toga with a purple border worn over a tunic.

As ruler of the known world, Licentius Caesar walks proudly in the noble tradition of his late father, Disgustus Caesar. When Disgustus died unexpectedly several years ago after eating some tainted shellfish, the youthful but determined Licentius managed to put aside the cloak of grief that weighed heavily on him and took on the mantle of leadership. Since that tumultuous day, Caesar has made great efforts to bring together the military, the temple, the senate, and business interests in new and unique ways. As a devoted friend of poet Flabbius Corpus, Licentius Caesar also demonstrates an undying interest in the arts. He considers the arts an essential complement to the rigors of statecraft and international relations. His current international relation is a particular Queen of the Nile.
[extracted from character description in the Guest List]
Costume Suggestion: Purple cloth draped over a tunic. Laurel leaf crown.

Starting with a cloth of 3m(L) by approx. 90cm(W), I folded it in half, lengthwise. Marking the centreline, I offset it bothsides by about 12cm and marked it.
Cutting it straight across where I marked it previously, I created a 24cm wide opening for the neckline and hemmed the cut edges.
For the embellishments down both sides on the front of the tunic, I offset 15cm from the side, and sewed on the gaudish gold ribbons.

Finally, I sewed the front to the back, on right and left side of the tunic, while leaving a 25cm opening on the top for the hands.
Adding a belt will give it waistline and you can garnish the head with the laurel leaf headband for the Roman look. Below, the grey tunic with silver ribbon would be for Harangus.
And the beige colored tunic with red&gold ribbons would be Caesar. I improvised on the pattern above for the embellishing, by sewing it across under the neckline and one more vertical down the middle. (picture of left would be without the belt, and picture on right is with belt and leather gauntlets/cuffs)
More cloth would be required (about 3-4m length) for the toga drapped over tunic.

For earlier posts related to my Roman Murder Mystery Costumes Project, please refer to the following links:
Roman Ruins : Prologue
- Introduction my Roman Murder Mystery Costumes Project.
Roman Ruins : Part 1 - MERCEDES ACCELLERATTI
- A rough guide to the construction of a ladies tunic.
- Construction of a Roman Centurion's costume

2 comments:

  1. yes it is, and very stiff huh?

    I did a more elaborate one for the murder scene too, with a dead body ... muahaha

    ReplyDelete