So often the picture we're presented in the media of the fashion in ancient times is a static one. Ancient Rome, for instance, is always toga and tunics. Based on how much fashion has changed in just the last century, it stands to reason that fashion underwent rapid changes like that in those days as well. Was fashion as important a topic in the days of Republican Rome as it is today? Were their any fads that are similar in scope to the fashion trends of today? Was it a topic of record in those days...for instance, were there "trend setters" or people that were considered fashionable and their style of dress and accessories emulated in the general populace?
It absolutely was not static.
I know mostly about styles within stone portraiture and not clothing, but I think the changing styles of hair likely meant that the Romans cared about what they wore as well. I've written a previous response on the progression of hair styles in Roman portraits a while back and I'll write a bit more simplified response here using the same sources from that post.
I'll focus female depictions since these hair styles tend to get far more elaborate than male ones. As a general theme, one can see hair becoming more and more elaborate on a fairly quick scale. And of course, I don't think these changes were as drastic as the decades based cultural shifts of today, but the Romans also didn't have mass communication, so I'd say their cultural was fairly dynamic for the time.
So beginning with the Augustus you'd see a popularity with the nodus hairstyle , attached is a portrait of Livia, Augustus's wife. Overall this is one of the more conservative styles that took place in the imperial period.
Moving into the reign of Tiberius there is Agrippina the Elder, mother of Caligula and already within 10-20 years you have a pretty noticeable change in fashionable hair styles. This is mirrored by Agrippina the Younger, wife of Claudius and mother of Nero about 15 years later.
Moving into the Flavian period 69-96 AD, you get some of the most extravagant styles of the empire. This is the "Flavian woman", likely a member of the imperial family, and one of the most defining styles for the period. Tall extravagant hairpieces were commonplace for the period with figures such as Domitia Longina, wife of Domitian, or Julia Flavia, a member of the imperial family.
Past the Flavian period (Nerva Antonine dynasty and Severan dynasty) hair styles were still ever changing, if you want I can outline further but I'll just leave pictures of different styles within these periods. My point though, is that if hair was this dynamic, it's very likely that clothing was as well, though that's not my expertise. You can also notice that members of the imperial family were often the ones creating these fashion trends likely due to their especially high status.
Plotina, Trajan's wife, early 2nd century AD
Sabina, Hadrian's wife, early 2nd century AD
Faustina the Younger, Marcus Aurelius's wife, late 2nd century AD
Julia Domna, Septimius Severus's wife, early 3rd century AD
