Clothes under robes, kilts (was Re: Snape's nationality and worst memory)

[sleepingblyx]

No: HPFGUIDX 76160


> Not wearing anything under robes is not a "witchy" thing it's a 
> historic thing.  People didn't wear trousers under robes because 
> they weren't invented in the societies where people wore robes.  
> There weren't a lot of underpants around for that matter either.  
> The robes are early mediaeval in style.  That means a breechclout 
> for men and women, a shift for ladies and an undertunic for men.  
> Thats it with regard to underwear.  Yes there were trousers in the 
> early mediaeval period, as worn in Scotland.  Trousers were also 
> worn by the Gauls during Roman Times.  But the Romans also wore 
> nothing under their togas and tunics.  (They presumably also liked 
a  bit of a breeze around their privates...)
> 
> June

Yes, but if you put it in context with magic practice, it would make 
more sense why the robes in the Potterverse endured. It wouldn't 
make sense that they would have just chosen to be naked underneath, 
or robed even, for centuries just because they were doing it 
thousands of years ago. Even people in Roman times did not usually 
wear floor leagnth robes to anything but senate matters and 
religious events because it wasn't practical. Which is why they 
later started developing better covers for themselves for while they 
rode horses and such. 

I think that J.K.R is making a point when she says they are in long 
(sometimes hooded)robes and not simply tunics, togas, or loincloths 
(lol), and why the school uniform is a robe, and not the grammar 
school outfit they run around in in the movie, with a long cover. 
That would signify a return to a tradition, not simply a cultural 
fashion of days gone by. 

There is something significant about robes-- not just in 
the "witchy" world, but in most faiths. To put on a robe suggests to 
partake in something spiritual and important-- and that is really 
the meaning behind all they learn in Hogwarts, and I think the use 
of the robes in uniforn helps to convey that. That they would have 
stayed robed at all, and naked underneath, would be tipping its hat 
to ideas (true or not) held about ritual magic.