Toga party

A typical attendee in a makeshift "toga"

A popular fad on college and university campuses in the United States and Canada, a toga party is a particular kind of costume party in which everyone wears a toga, or a semblance thereof, normally made from a bed sheet, and sandals. Toga parties were depicted in the 1978 film Animal House, which propelled the ritual into a widespread and enduring practice. Ivan Reitman was one of the producers of Animal House, who attended McMaster University and stayed in Whidden Hall, which is reputed to be the origin to the toga party.

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt held a toga party to spoof the followers of the "Caesar", her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"Togas" worn to parties by women are much more scanty than true togas. (In Rome, women did not wear togas.)

The Animal House scene was not the first mention of a toga party in popular media. A toga party was also briefly described in Tom Wolfe's 1968 story The Pump House Gang, although somewhat different from the version in the film.

• How to make a toga

References

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