Bindalli Wedding Dress

This bindalli (bindallı in Turkish) dress, said to be from Ankara, is made of a deep purple velvet with a delicate embroidered design in a finely executed dival style using metal-wrapped threads and small metal sequins. Bindalli dresses, worn for weddings and important occasions by Jewish and Muslim women, were expensive garments and would have been used repeatedly and passed down, which may account for the rather worn condition of this garment. The dress is constructed in a typical style for bindalli dresses with a round neck, front opening, dropped shoulders and straight sleeves. The gold embroidery decorates the bodice with an all over design of floral arabesques. The long full skirt is ornamented with three registers of an elaborate floral garland and small, filler motifs of tasseled wreaths and scrolls. A narrow running garland edges the hem of the dress.