The Caftan
Caftan is a buttoned coat or tunic before, usually reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves. It can be made of wool, cashmere, silk or cotton. It can be worn with a belt.
It is a variant of the robe or tunic, whose versions were worn by countless cultures around the world for thousands of years. The caftan is associated with Islamic or Islamicate cultures. Kaftans were often worn as dresses court, the splendor and decorations specific caftan indicated the rank of the wearer. Rulers have often embellished caftans as a mark of favor.
The kaftans worn by the Ottoman sultans are stored in one of the most splendid collections of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. Ornate kaftans were given as rewards for dignitaries and victorious generals. Decorations, colors, patterns, ribbons and buttons indicated the rank of the person to whom they were presented.
Since the 14th century through the 17th centuries, with large textile patterns were used. The decorative motifs on fabrics became both smaller and brighter in the late 16th and 17th. From the second half of the 17th century, the most precious fabrics are those with 'yollu': vertical stripes with various embroideries and the small so-called "Selimiye" fabrics.
Most fabrics manufactured in Turkey were made in Istanbul and Bursa, but some came from textiles as far as Venice, Genoa, Persia (Iran), India and even China. Caftans were made from velvet, aba, bürümcük (a type of pancake with a silk warp and cotton weft) canfes, CATMA (a heavy silk brocade), gezi, diba (Persian دیبا) hatayi, kutnu , kemha, Seraser (Persian سراسر) (brocade with silk warp and gold or silver wire frame [2]), serenk, zerbaft (Persian زربافت), taffeta (Persian تافته). Favored colors were indigo, kermes red, purple, Pismis Ayva or "cooked quince", and welding yellow.
The Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, possesses a large collection of Ottoman kaftans and textiles. [3]
[Edit] Moroccan caftans
In Morocco kaftans are only worn by women, see Takshita. These dresses are different in many ways from their Turkish counterparts. They can be dressed casual to very formal, depending on the materials used.
[Edit] West African caftans
In West Africa, a kaftan is a sweater dress. Kaftans are worn by both men and women. In West Africa, the female robe is called a kaftan or a boubou, and the male robe is the Senegalese kaftan.
[Edit] Russian caftans
In Russia the word "kaftan" is used for another type of clothing: a kind of combination of time a man with tight sleeves. By the 19th century Russian kaftans were the most common type of outer clothing among peasants and merchants. Currently, they are used as a ritual garment religious sect most conservative Old Believers.
[Edit] Southeast Asian caftans
In Southeast Asia, caftans are often worn as cool, casual wear in warm weather. Batik is often used.
[Edit] Western fashion
American hippie in the 1960s and 1970s, often drawn from ethnic styles, including caftans. African kaftan style, type dashikis were very popular, especially among African Americans. Street styles were affected by fashion designers who marketed sumptuous Moroccan style caftan dresses as hostess for casual entertaining at home.
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