Fashion isn’t always an attempt to stay stylish. Throughout history, clothing and personal appearance have reflected social status, political alignments, sexuality, and more. But because of this symbolism, these simple-but-effective means of expression can also generate resistance from people in power. As far back as 416 CE, the Roman emperors Honorius and Theodosius II tried reining in a rising trend they deemed unfit for their male citizens—long hair.
This maiores crines (long locks) law probably wasn’t enacted purely due to their aesthetic preferences. As historian Javier Arce recently argued in his study published in the journal Pyrenae, the Roman government linked lengthier hair on men with a growing “barbarian” problem. The issue wasn’t an influx of Germanic residents, Franks, and Goths, however. It was that their personal grooming styles were beginning to rub off on Romans. And it was humiliating to the Roman elite.
Ancient Rome often relied on lex vestiaria (laws controlling apparel options and personal grooming) as means to maintain social order. During the empire’s later years, rulers regulated dress according to societal rank, allowing for the quick identification of enslaved people. Other examples included banning senators from wearing military items, as well as the restriction of fashions typically associated with outside cultures.
According to Arce, the timing of Honorius’ and Theodosius II’s long locks law was anything but random. The order arrived not long after the Visigoth king Alaric captured and sacked Rome in 410 CE. Six years later, Germanic attire and hairstyles had become popular enough that the empire’s rulers worried about a “Germanization” of their subjects, which might weaken their grasp on power. In addition to mandating short hair, Rome also forbade clothing made with animal skins, even for enslaved people—another fashion associated with Germanic enemies.
So were these attempts to suppress non-Roman cultural influences ultimately successful? In the end, it wouldn’t matter one way or the other. By 476 CE, the Western Roman empire had effectively collapsed, ceding military and economic power to the very “barbarians” whose fashions the ruling class hoped to stifle.
