Don
Don was loose ankle-length or full-length underwear. Men wore it under their trousers. Women often wore it as their only leg covering. Learn more about Ottoman Turkish underpants.
Category: Final Names
Çakşır
Slim-Fit Pants
This style of trousers, slim in the leg and voluminous through the rear, is one of the standard trouser styles worn by men (and a few fashionable early-17th-century women). Unfortunately, we have no idea what it was called.
Saçbağı
When a woman wore her hair in a single braid down her back, she could tie a jeweled tassel of gold or silver chains, a saçbağı, to the end. (It’s pronounced “sach-baah-ih.”) The 17th-century poet Karacaoğlan hints at the evocative power of the saçbağı: As she wakes up in the morning, praises…
Istefan
The “crown” some women wear around the base of their hats is called istefan, from the Greek word for “diadem.” Except at court, istefan were decorations, not status markers; a toddler wears one in a 1574 watercolor of her, her mother, and a servant in the street.
Dolama
In the 16th century, the word dolama, literally “wrapping,” was an adjective that indicated the garment was intended to be worn on the outside of the outfit. It was used only rarely, probably because people generally used a garment’s specific name. For example, in Istanbul-area court records, kaftan refers to…
Yağmurluk
The yağmurluk, literally “raincoat,” was an overcoat worn only by men as, yes, a raincoat. There are several references to their being made of felt.
Kapama
The kapama was a type of full-length overcoat. It wasn’t very popular; in the estate records there were only 14 kapamas in Galata and 18 in Uskudar, and three of those were the ambiguous “kapama kaftan.”
Kürk
Many garments are listed in the estate records simply as “fur,” kürk. I suspect this was a catchall term for any overcoat lined with fur.
Çuka/Çuha
Literally “wool broadcloth,” a çuka or çuha was an overcoat made of, yes, wool broadcloth. Wool broadcloth was a top-quality fabric whose cost could rival that of many silks, a mainstay of any gentleman’s or lady’s wardrobe (as well as the winter wear of any less well-to-do person who could…