• WOMEN'S CLOTHING

For many centuries during the Seljuk and most of the Ottoman period, women's articles

of dress were similar to those of men and bore the same name. The main items were

the salvar (ankle-length trousers - pronounced shal-vhaar), gömlek (under tunic -

pronounced ghoem-lhekh), hirka (cardigan - pronounced kher-kah), entari (gown -

pronounced aehn-tah-ree) which could sometimes be called a kaftan (caftan -

pronounced khahf-tahn) and ferace (overmantle - pronounced feh-rah-djeh) which

was for wearing out of doors. Apart from the quality of the fabrics, there was little

difference in style or articles of dress between rich and poor, nor between those of

Muslim or non-Muslim women.

Because Islam forbade women to appear unveiled before men other than their

husbands and close relatives, women's outdoor clothing was subject to strict

regulations. During the Anatolian Seljuk period women covered their heads, but were

not veiled, as we learn from contemporary visual material. For summer they were

made of silk, and for winter of wool, often lined with fur. Through the 16th and 17th

centuries the style of the ferace remained unchanged. the yasmak (pronounced

yhash-mahkh) consisted of two pieces of fine white muslin covering the head, the

upper piece tied around the forehead and the lower piece across the mouth below the

nose. Over this was a peçe (veil pronounced pech-eh).

From the turn of the 18th century changes began to come about in feraces and veils.

A broad collar, about a handspan in width was added to the ferace leaving the neck

slightly open, and Muslim women began to wear feraces of pastel colors (referred to

as "unseemly colors" in proscriptive laws of the period) in fine fabrics. What is more,

the fabric of veils, became more transparent, and with the introduction of hotoz (high

cap) which added height to the headdress, veils began to be tied more loosely, and to

be adorned with gold thread of various types.

Far more detailed information is available about the dress of the 16th and 17th

centuries, after Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The main items of

dress for women were again ankle-length trousers, long sleeved under tunics made of

seersucker gauze (bürümcük - bue-ruem-djuek) reaching down to the ankles, a

cardigan and a gown, which was sometimes called a caftan, and which could have

either short or long sleeves. A diversity in minor modification of detail, such as the cut

of the cuff or tightness of the bodice, emerged in women's dress in the early 18th

century, the period known as the Tulip Era. It was during this period that the trousers

became baggier. The miniatures of Levni and Abdullah Buhari also depict the dress of

the time in close detail.

The headdresses worn by women in the 12th to 14th centuries are illustrated in

miniatures, tiles and stonecarvings. Seljuk women usually wore their hair in braids

down to their ankles. They either wore embroidered cloths on their heads or a diadem

adorned with a gem in the shape of a drop in the center of the forehead. From the

early 17th century onwards women's caps worn in the Capital became lighter, tapering

towards the top. as is manifested by extant examples. Towards the middle of the

century hotoz (a type of cap reminiscent of the bogtag), worn by the Ilkhanid period

palace women, with a narrow base and broad crown. came into fashion. In the

Istanbul of Ahmed III, when the Empire was relatively undisturbed by political troubles,

women's headdresses began to take a diversity of exaggerated forms, quite unlike

those of earlier periods. Hotoz with a one-sided brim curving over one shoulder is the

most striking innovation of this period. During the reign of Mahmud I and his

successors, women’s headdresses were widely varied and ornate.