Roman Emperor Costume
I, Emperor! Wouldn’t you like to be an Emperor? Here’s your chance! With this Roman Emperor costume, you can be emperor for a day!
Which Emperor will you choose to be? You could be wise and beneficent like Augustus, the first Emperor and nephew of Julius Caesar. Or perhaps you want to be “over the top” and dress as Caligula or Nero, the two most infamous emperors. Here’s a list of the Roman Emperors to help you decide.
You could always go with the most famous of all Romans – Julius Caesar. Although he’s not officially one of the emperors, he was the first individual ruler of the Roman Empire and his nephew, Octavian, became Augustus, the first and one of the greatest Roman emperors.
This adult Julius Caesar costume includes a long one-piece white costume with gold sequin accents, burgundy shoulder drape with gold trim, a gold vinyl belt with Velcro closure, and a laurel wreath crown. Add the adult Roman sandals and the brown Caesar wig for finishing touches. This costume is available in plus sizes too.
If you’d like a more warrior-like costume for Julius Caesar, then perhaps this second option may be more to your liking. The General Julius Caesar costume includes a white tunic with ancient roman inspired details on the neck and sleeves, a faux leather kilt, wrist cuffs, and a fire-red drape. In this garment, your night will be the stuff of legend!
If you choose to go with a Julius Caesar costume, be sure to practice your “Et tu, Brute?” to keep in character!
Emperor Gaius, more commonly known as Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and commonly considered crazy. While popular in the beginning of his reign, within four years time he was killed by his very own Imperial guards, which were sworn to protect him. If you want a chance to play an insane emperor, then the Emperor Caligula costume should be your choice. The costume includes a long black robe, red shoulder drape, traditionally decorated belt, matching wrist cuffs and a head wreath.
To learn more about this emperor, check out the Caligula: The Corruption of Power book by Professor Anthony Barrett. Making judicious use of the often incomplete and inconsistent sources from the life and rule of Caligula, Barrett’s book offers new insights into a figure often avoided by academic biographers.
Emperor Nemo was the fifth emperor of Rome and the last of the descendants of Julius Caesar to hold the title of Emperor.
Wicked and cruel, Nero started his reign as Emperor by ordering the murder of his mother, Agrippina the Younger. He was considered a good artist but he was also an ancient example of the saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. If you prefer to walk the darker path, then the Emperor Nero costume may be a good choice for you. This costume includes a white robe, red shoulder piece with gold trimming, and a matching headdress in the appearance of golden leaves.
To finish off any of these costumes, you could add the deluxe style Roman sandals for footgear and for headgear, you could add a gold laurel wreath or go all out and wear the wig and laurel wreath!
To read more about the history of the Roman Emperors, check out the Chronicle of the Roman Emperors book by Chris Scarre. His colorful album astutely surveys 500 years of contesting and holding the Imperial purple. The result is a text winding around many interesting sidebars, maps, and busts of emperors, rendering an effect attractive both to those who know the Roman saga by heart and to those whose ideas of it came from the I, Claudius TV series.
Regardless of the Roman Emperor costume that you chose, you’ll be all ready to dazzle them with your royal inventiveness!