The Real Reason Pants Were Objectionable In The Roman Empire

Around 50 B.C. Roman armies led by Julius Caesarconquered Gaul (modern-day France), as Britannica notes. While fighting in Gaul, Caesar encountered native people whom he considered uncivilized. And what were they wearing? You guessed it pants, which were most often made from animal skins, as Atlas Obscuranotes. The same proved true of other Germanic

Around 50 B.C. Roman armies led by Julius Caesar conquered Gaul (modern-day France), as Britannica notes. While fighting in Gaul, Caesar encountered native people whom he considered uncivilized. And what were they wearing? You guessed it — pants, which were most often made from animal skins, as Atlas Obscura notes. The same proved true of other Germanic peoples the Romans came across as they conquered Europe, many of whom were called "barbarians."

A famous Roman poet named Ovid recalled what one group of people he met in Romania looked like as well as what they wore, including trousers. "The people even when they were not dangerous, were odious, clothed in skins and trousers with only their faces visible," Ovid wrote. During this time, trousers or pants came to represent an otherness to the people Rome conquered, and with whom Rome fought to keep under control.

According to the University of California, Berkeley historian Susanne Elm, speaking with Atlas Obscura, "Good orators were using rhetoric in a rather sophisticated way — they were picturing foreign tribes in the way that mostly suited their needs, from fierce aggressors to backwards folks and they were relying on visual imageries to make sure that 'barbarian otherness' would stand out." Pants-wearing was just one such example.

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