Women’s Clothing Fashion in the Century of Turkey

In the centuries until the Tanzimat proclamation, there was not a radical change in Ottoman women’s clothing. European fashion entered the Ottoman lands with imported fabrics. When Paris became the center of fashion, the ladies of the palace also chose fabrics from there.

First adopting the Western style with fabrics and ornaments, the ladies of the palace gradually became Westernized not only in embroidery and lace, but also in the shape of the dress, such as the cut, bodice and collar. Finding the tailors in Istanbul inadequate, the ladies directed their orders to fashion houses in Paris. In this transitional period of style chaos, a traditional robe could be paired with a jacket made by a Parisian tailor.

As ready-to-wear clothing became more affordable in the 19th century, European-influenced gowns could also be purchased in the bazaar. In this way, Western fashion was no longer confined to the palace, but also met and was adopted by the public.

The groundbreaking Naime Sultan

In the past, wedding dresses didn’t have to be white, although we don’t see the opposite nowadays. First preferred by Queen Victoria in 1840, the white wedding dress had an echoing effect. In the West, from the 1870s onwards, wedding dresses designed from light-colored silk fabrics drew attention with their long tail models, underwires revealing the thin waist line and puffy sleeves.

This trend in Europe was also reflected in the Ottoman Empire. Until the late 19th century, brides of the period wore shirts, shalwar and gowns called three skirts. The first person to change this tradition in our lands was Naime Sultan, the daughter of II Abdulhamid. Being inspired by Western influences, Naime Sultan chose a white wedding dress and preferred the old-fashioned style with long and four skirts.

New movement in clothing

The fashion movement, which spread from the French capital to the rest of Europe and then to Turkey, replaced the sparkling stones, fluffy, glamorous clothes with invitation dresses decorated with elegant details such as lace or tulle on light silk fabric.

In the early years of the Republic, Istanbul was the fashion center of high society. The establishment of the Faculties of Art for Girls in 1927 paved the way for the development of fashion houses, and the ladies in the state protocol were involved in the preparation of their outfits. With events such as exhibitions and fashion shows organized at the institutes, European fashion was brought to every city in Turkey.

At the beginning of the 20th century, women who had been trapped in corsets at the expense of a slim waist were freed from them, as if representing the post-war return to comfort. When Russian refugees fleeing the October Revolution entered Turkish territory in the 1920s, cultural patterns and dress changed dramatically. The low-waisted, corseless and short dresses of the period were a breakthrough for the ladies of Istanbul. The loose dresses that fell straight down from the shoulders drew attention with their low-cut necklines and short skirt lengths. These short dresses with light embroidery on them, asymmetrical cut details or tassels on the hems were in harmony with the Charleston dance.

Lines of fashion

The discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the Egyptian motifs that began to take place in clothes, women wearing wire hoops under skirts during the period when the plague increased, and many other examples prove the impact of historical developments on fashion. If we look at the recent period, while there were very clear lines between home wear, outerwear and formal wear, the pandemic caused these lines to be blurred. While sportswear sections were kept separate in stores, we can now see that they are exhibited together with outerwear. Every single factor such as wars, economic downturns and diseases affects the fashion industry. Fabrics are getting shorter, embroidery is getting less, but fashion continues to exist.