Category: Kaftans with Hanging Sleeves

Kaftans with long, hanging sleeves were the standard overcoat for gentlemen (and some gentlewomen) of status. Made in wool broadcloth, they were everyday wear; made in stunning silk brocades and velvets, they were essential court wear. The robes of honor, or hil’at, that the sultan bestowed on people he wanted to favor were kaftans of this type.

To wear this type of kaftan, the wearer usually put his arms through the slits at the shoulders, and let the sleeves hang down the back. Bazaar paintings show some wrinkling at the cuffs of the hanging sleeves, suggesting that ordinary people sometimes put their arms through the sleeves and let the excess length bunch up on the forearm. However, by the 17th century, some of the rich garments in the Topkapi Palace collection have sleeves too narrow to wear, suggesting that for court wear, at least, the hanging sleeves were merely decorative.