Festive Dress

This woman’s dress is made from a lavish purple-violet striped fabric, perhaps made using mauveine, the first synthetic die that became widely popular in Europe following its invention in 1856. Wide, deep purple bands alternate with slightly narrower fuchsia bands. The individual bands are lavishly decorated in floral branches that develop as continuous golden scrolls from one end to the other. The patterning of the stripes was realized during the weaving process of the fabric through the use of fine metal wrapped extra-weft threads (gild metallic tightly wrapped around a silk core). The extensive use of fine satin silk and luxurious metallic thread create a very sophisticated effect for the dress.


The dress’s shape balances regional Anatolian tradition with European influence. The cutout neck with a deep straight front opening and the offset sleeves are common in Ottoman dress. However, the extra-fitting of the sleeves’ ends (getting narrower towards the end) and of the bodice, or small details, such as the use of metallic hooks and loops, indicate the influence of European tailoring. Inspired by western fashion, the deep folded pleats around the full-length skirt would slightly unfold when the wearer moved and open more widely while dancing. With its lavish use of expensive fabric, the dress would certainly have signaled the status and wealth of the wearer.


The luxurious silk and gold of the fabric and the dress’s elegant appearance suggest that the dress was intended to be worn during festive celebrations. The donor of this dress Mrs. Fimi M. Samour, whose Armenian family emigrated to the US from Adana (southern Turkey) in 1921, identifies it as her mother’s 1881 wedding dress.