Ottoman Women and Textiles

Textile Production

During the Ottoman Empire, the economy was largely based on textile production and trade, which the rulers subsidized and regulated. Carpets, silks, cottons, and other luxury goods comprised the wealth of commodities that through trade, mainly with Europe, led to the maintenance of a healthy economy during the Ottoman Empire. Women played an extremely important role in this textile economy, and the outlet they found in embriodery and cloth spinning allowed for an undeniable amount of power and financial independance in a world dominated by men.
One significant aspect of the Ottoman textile industry involving women was embroidery, both domestic and in workshops. Most of the embroidery in the empire came from the Imperial Harem and other harems of high officials, from the workshops and factories, and from domestic women working independantly in their homes. The latter group was the largest and produced the most unique and intricate works, with a widespread reputation for excellence. Ottoman women in the city centers, confined to their homes by social convention, used embroidery mainly to pass the time, but the beautiful pieces they produced became a source of income as well, thereby allowing them some financial independance. Because these women were often working individually and could support themselves, they actually had the authority and respect to be able to refuse commissions if they so wished, even from the Imperial Palace.

Dress
The skill of embroidery was a major part of the education of young girls in the Ottoman Empire, and as these girls grew and became more adept at their work, they could set up small informal schools to teach younger girls embroidery. This was another way for women to support themselves and be productive in society, properly bringing up the young women and providing a new generation of expert embroiderers. In addition to embroidering, this practice of gathering together provided a social outlet, which allowed them to socialize, gossip, and take tea. Women were not involved simply with embroidery, but also with spinning cotton cloth used both in trade and in their own homes for headscarves, bed linens, towels, and clothes. They invested much time and effort in creating these garments, and thus took great pride in their appearance, using clothing to identify themselves within their society by class and religion. Because women were the ones embroidering the majority of the clothes, they had a direct influence on the fashions of the day. Due to active trade with Europe, many European influences in Ottoman fashion began in the 1700's; there are many accounts of these interactions in traveler's journals and letters. The basic uniform of loose pants (salvar), a loose shirt (gomelek), and robes (entari) started to see European touches of lace collars and cuffs, and would be accessorized with gloves, buttons, and parasols. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the English ambassador to Turkey, spent two years in Turkey in the early 1700's, and during her stay wrote many letters decribing the clothing and habits of Turkish women:

"The first piece of my dresse is a pair of drawers, very full, that reach to my shoes and conceal the legs...They are of a thin rose colour damask brocaded with silver flowers, my shoes of white kid Leather embrodier'd with Gold. Over this hangs my Smock of a fine white silk Gause edg'd with Emroidery...The Antery is a wastcoat made close to the shape, of white and Gold damask, with very long sleeves....My Caftan of the same stuff with my Drawers is a robe exactly fited to my shape and reaching my feet..." (Halsband 326).

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in Turkish Dress.

Women Costumes in Ottoman

During Ottoman times, a great distinction was made between the garments that women wore indoors and outdoors. Around the beginning of the 16th century, women's outdoor clothing consisted of ferace (overmantle), yaşmak (light-colored veil), and peçe (black veil). Winter overmantles were made of wool while those worn in summer were of silk. They had full sleeves and wrapped the body very loosely. Opening in the front, their lengths reached the ground. During the 18th century, trimmed collars were added to the overmantle. Over the years, the lengths of the "collars" varied, sometimes reaching as far as the lower hem as during the reign of Mahmud 11. During the second half of the 19th century skirt fronts were cut round and were fastened with a single button. Edges were embellished with pleating. Overmantle colors played an important role during Ottoman times: Muslim women wore red, blue, or green feraces while those worn by non-Muslim women were of paler shades.
Yaşmaks were made from a fine, soft, white fabric and consisted of two parts: one that was wrapped about the head covering it to the eyebrows and another that covered the lower part of the face to just the bridge of the nose.

The çarşaf, a baggy outer garment, is a fairly late addition to the Ottoman woman's wardrobe, having been introduced from Syria after 1872. Made from two long pieces of cloth joined together and fastened in pleats at the waist with a drawstring, it was worn together with a transparent veil over the face. This innovation did not always meet with approval; Sultan Abdiilhamid 11 for example expressly forbade the women of his palace to wear it. The baggy Çarşaf was in some cases replaced by a two-piece affair consisting of a skirt and cape.

Within the home, Ottoman women of the 16th and 17th centuries dressed in ankle-length trousers called şalvar, long-sleeved shifts of a seersucker gauze that reached down to the heels, long-sleeved cardigans, and robes known as kaftan. Open in the front and lacking any trimming, the fullness of the skirts of these robes was increased by the addition of narrow godets from the waist down. This style is common in skirts until the 19th century.

The dresses called üçetek (having a three-panelled skirt) and dörtetek (having a four-panelled skirt) make their appearance in the early 19th century. Another costume consisting of baggy shalwars, a short, tight~fitting jacket embroidered with silver thread, and a sash with embroidered ends bound at the waist was as elegant as it was comfortable to wear. Blouses were made of seersucker or silk and had cuffs and collars trimmed with lace. A type of dress called bindalli made from velvet or satin and heavily embroidered with elaborate patterns in silver and gold braid were indispensable attire for special occasions such as bridal henna-parties.

One result of steadily increasing European influence on the Ottoman Empire was the occasional use of imported European fabrics in the making of traditional woman's garments beginning in the 18th century. During the 19th century, such traditional garments as the üçetek and shalwar are cast aside in favor of costumes influenced by Parisian fashions. Traditional dresses are replaced by close-fitting corseted garments, blouses with long, full sleeves, and long, flounced skirts. Such attire was naturally accompanied by accessories such as silk stockings, fans, gloves, and parasols. The most important garment in any woman's life is her wedding-dress. During every period, wedding-dresses have been made using the most expensive fabrics available according to the prevailing fashion and style. Until fairly late in the 19th century, Ottoman brides dressed in lively colors (red was a particular favorite) at their weddings. The bridal veil was also made of red gauze well into the 19th century and was embroidered with silver and gold braid. European fashions however begin to weigh heavily in the design of Ottoman bridal costumes from about the 1870's onward. While the fabrics are silk, the colors tend to be pastel pinks, blues, and creams. The gowns are made in two parts and have a train while the traditional silver and gold braid embellishments are augmented with lace, pearls, and sequins. During this period, bridal gowns were sometimes worn beneath a matching fur-lined kaftan.In 1898, Princess Naime, daughter of Abdülhamid II, wore a pure-white bridal gown at her wedding. The fashion of the bride's wearing white thus introduced by the court was to influence the rest of Turkish society in the following century.