Faustina the Elder (The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California)The standard item of outer clothing for the Roman matrona was the stola, a long, full gown which was belted into overhanging folds below the breasts, and also sometimes at the waist. It reached down to partially cover the feet. On top of their stola, the Roman matrona wore the palla. A palla was a large, rectangular wrap of woolen cloth draped according to indivdual taste and the dictates of fashion.
