Part I: A Brief Overview of Gores and Closures in Extant Kaftan

This all stemmed originally from Captain Natalya asking me about kaftan closures because she was making a new fencing kaftan, but I thought it might be of interest to a wider audience. This will be a three-part topic:   gores and closures on extant kaftan, creating the button and loop method of closure and creating the braided/woven band style of closure called çaprasts. As I've started writing, it occurs to me that a post on buttons might be useful too.  Apparently, I have a lot to say on this topic. :)

There are two basic patterns seen in the extant Ottoman kaftan (for the purposes of this discussion I am excluding the over-kaftan with the long hanging sleeves that you see in a lot of 16th-century Ottoman miniatures.)

The short-sleeved -frequently cut with the archer's curve in the front and often including detachable long sleeves (as discussed in my previous post)

And the long-sleeved kaftan

photo from Türkiye’de Tarikat Giyim-Kuşam Tarihi

Both patterns include front gores. Based on what I have seen & read, the gores can be one long gore on the left going from the hem to the neckline and the right gore starting approximately at the waist. or, towards the end of the 16th century, both gores from the waist. Although looking closely at the kaftan above and the fact that the diagram implies two symmetric sides, that would mean this particular kaftan had two gores starting at the neck. I have not seen any other examples of two long gores, but I also haven't been looking specifically at the gores until recently.  I may have to do a visual tour of kaftans specifically looking for more kaftan with two long gores in the near future.

There are multiple extant examples with the gore cut with the front as a single piece such as the example below.  You can see from the brightness and lack of wear on the "gore" that it functioned like a placket and was mostly hidden under the closures.

kaftan with gores cut as a single piece with the fronts  late 16th century

photo credit: Millicent Ryan

Used with permission

Sometimes the gores were cut separately.  I usually cut my gores separately because, since kaftan use rectangular construction, it's much more fabric efficient.  It's also useful if you are using loops to close your kaftan.

detail of kaftan with separately cut gores  c. 1550

Topkapi Sarayi Museum, Istanbul

TSM 13/100

Photo from Style and Status

The two primary closures on extant kaftan are loops and buttons (as above) or the braided or woven closures called çaprasts. Some kaftan had no closures but presumably were held closed by the sash or belt worn over them.

detail of kaftan, first quarter of the 16th century

Topkapi Sarayi Museum, Istanbul

TSM 13/46

Photo from Tablet Weaving from Anatolia & the Ottoman Court

detail of  child's kaftan, 16th century(?)

Topkapi Sarayi Museum, Istanbul

TSM 13/1035

Photo from Tablet Weaving from Anatolia & the Ottoman Court

Next:  Part II:  recreating the button and loop method of closure.

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Arnold, Janet. “A Caftan, said to have been worn by Selim I (1512-1520)”. Costume, Vol 2. 1968.

Atasoy, Nurhan. Derviş Çeyizi: Türkiye’de Tarikat Giyim-Kuşam Tarihi. T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı, 2000

Atlihan. Serife. Tablet Weaving in Anatolia and the Ottoman Court. Marmara University Press, 2017.

Ryan, Millicent. Journey to the Clothworkers' Centre.  self-published, 2018.

----.  Style and Status:  Imperial Costumes in Ottoman Turkey. Azimuth Editions, 2005.