[abir]

What I found till now are pictures from Musuems or detailed descriptions of how was the Kaftan in some regions in Middle East/Asia.

I wonder how was the Moroccan dress decades ago so that we can compare it with Ottoman/Caucasus/Circassian Kaftan. That could be interesting.



Ottoman Kaftan (entari)

• Caftans of various styles were the main item of dress for both men and women.
• Caftans are fairly simple in construction and tailoring, using mostly straight seams; it was the quality of the fabric that was intended to impress (although the majority of surviving caftans are of plain material).
• They generally have round necks, sometimes with a small stand-up collar.
• Women’s caftans likewise had round necks: styles that had low round or square necklines or even came under the bust date to the late 18th century. 16th century caftans did not expose the bosom.
• They usually have buttons to the waist, either jewelled or covered in the same fabric as the caftan. The buttons fastened through loops rather than buttonholes, often attached to frogging in braid or similar fabric across the chest. This frogging seems to be more prevalent on men’s garments than women’s, although it found on caftans of both genders.
• Caftans were usually three-quarter to full length, although shorter knee length caftans were worn for sport or battle.
• Women also wore a shorter hip to thigh length caftan called a hirka under or sometimes over a full-length caftan.
• Sleeves were short, wrist or ankle length. Short sleeves came to the elbow, with a curved cutout in front where the arm would bend. Wrist length sleeves extended just past the fingertips, and were worn bunched up at the wrist and fastened tightly with buttons (This type of sleeve could also be detachable, to mix and match with short-sleeved caftans). Ankle length sleeves were purely decorative, falling empty behind and worn only on the outer garment.
• The sultan and his court would frequently wear three caftans: one with wrist length sleeves under another with short sleeves, under another with decorative ankle length sleeves, so their contrasting fabrics could all be seen and admired.
• Women tended to wear wrist length sleeves, with short sleeves only on the outer garment. They did not seem to wear ankle length sleeves at all. (Early 17th century illustrations depict women with decorative flared turned-back cuffs, which be easily achieved by buttoning the sleeve differently at the wrist; it seems likely this was also a 16th century practice.) Sleeves split all the way to the elbow and hanging open did not come into fashion until the 18th century.
• Women’s caftans did not seem to have the overlapping triangular front gores of the men’s caftans: however, these gores are present on a surviving outer caftan from the Topkapi Saray Museum.
• Women’s caftans seem to have been tailored quite close to the body. Several 17th century illustrations depict caftans being worn fastened with only every third or fourth button, so as to gape open and show off the fabric of the hirka underneath; it is probable this was also a 16th century practice.

Fabrics

• Fabrics ranged from light silks, satins and cottons to sumptuous polychrome silks and gold threaded brocades to Italian style velvets and velvet brocades, the more colourful the better (dark or sombre colours were uncommon).
• Solid colours, moiré, subtle jacquard patterns, triplet spots, stylised tiger stripes, ogival designs and especially naturalistic and stylised floral patterns were all popular. Checks and stripes are almost never seen.
• Caftans of lighter weight materials were worn closer to the body, with the heavier fabrics being the outer layers.
• Cotton was the usual lining material, with fur sometimes used to line a heavy outer coat. Silk facing was used at the neck, cuffs, hem and side slits, and was usually a contrasting colour to the caftan and lining fabrics.
• Apart from the quality and cost of the fabrics, there was little difference in the styles or articles of dress between rich and poor, nor between those of Muslims and non-Muslims.

Belts and sashes (uçkur)

• The Ottomans were unusual among Islamic cultures for not treating the belt as a symbol of martial power and prestige. Belts are rarely shown in painting before the 17th century, and were not a conspicuous part of male civilian dress.
• Sashes were made of a folded and seamed length of linen, measuring approximately 2m long by 15 cm wide. They featured elaborate gold-embroidered end panels, around 12-15 cm long.
• Several 16th belts in the Topkapi Saray Museum are presumed to be women’s. They are of ivory, silver or mother of pearl plaques, joined by links or mounted on leather. The are elaborately decorated with gold or silver scrollwork, and set with jewels. Their length would indicate they were worn around the waist, not the hips.

From http://www.redkaganate.org/clothing/ottocloth.shtml