Traditional Clothes and Finery
Clothing was first introduced to protect man from the elements. It has
come by its present forms as a result of the influence of social and
moral values.
With the passing time, a wide variety in forms of clothing emerged.
These differences were the result of social and economic structure,
geography, the materials available and climate.
In the very earliest times, everyone in a particular tribe would wear clothes that defined his or
her social status. More than an obligation, this was an understanding carried on by tradition.
Clothing and eben hair styles reflected this same conception.
Traditional clothes and finery provide considerable information about the workings
of a society. Clothes indicate whether societies are settled or nomadic, and are a
source of information abourt historical events and ethnological origins. For
example, in Yöruk or Turkoman villages, one can tell whether a woman is engaged,
married or a widow from the way in which she does her hair.
Daily, work and special day clothes are different. Hair styles during a wedding and
after the bridal chamber differ. In markets, it is easy to identify which village
people live in just from their clothes.
Today in Anatolia, there are differences even between the clothing
worn in different neighborhoods of the same village.
It is therefore inadvisable for the art historian, sociologist, folk dance arranger
or designer to speak in terms of "Traditional Turkish costume.”
Research led by sociologists from the Folk Culture Research and Development
General Directorate of the Ministry of Culture has revealed that Anatolia
possesses a wide range of clothing.
Men who leave their villages to do their military service or to take up
employment inevitably adapt to city culture. Field research therefore faces problems when it
comes to defining men’s clothing. But in rural areas, women generally have little contact with
the outside world. They tend to dress in conformity with the lifestyle and traditions of the
community of which they are a part. Dress and decoration tends to follow that of preceding
generations. Children’s clothes also differ according to sex and age. The concept of the evil
eye is widespread, and one can observe many amulets to ward it off in peoples’ clothes and
hair.
In conservative communities, each generation follows the clothing
styles and customs of earlier generations, which is how traditional
clothing and styles have come down to the present day. Yet it is
nevertheless impossible to say that traditional clothing and finery are totally unchanging. The
materials employed certainly do change, and the efforts put into clothes are no longer as
painstaking as before. Contemporary conditions create different styles, and interaction
between different fashions is quite intense.
In rural areas, women spend most of their time with working. As a result, their daily, work
and special day clothes are different. Special costumes and hair dressings are only to be seen
at wedding ceremonies. Women’s hair styles differ in accordance with their social status, and
whether they are married or engaged, or not. Hair style is an important feature of women’s
lives.