Proper Roman women did not appear in public unless they were dressed as pudicitia (modesty) dictated. In practical terms, this meant that almost no part of her body was visible to an onlooker except for her face and hands, which could in any case be shielded within the folds of her palla. Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) mocks the sexual indulgence of his generation, saying how difficult it is to get a really good look at a proper Roman lady when she is fully dressed.

With a married lady you can't see a thing except her face. The rest is covered by her long dress . . . if you want forbidden fruit protected by a wall (and that, I may say, is what drives you crazy) you'll find a host of snags . . . a dress (stola) reaching to the ankles, and on top of...