Caftans - Fashionable Plus Size Clothing

DID YOU KNOW-Variants on the caftan style can also be seen in particular African countries.

CAFTAN The term "caftan" or Kaftan (from Ottoman Turkish qaftan) is used to refer to a complete-length, loosely-fitted garment with lengthy or brief sleeves worn by each males and women, mainly in the Levant and North Africa.The caftan is comparable to the much more voluminous djellaba gown of the Middle East.

The origin of the caftan is generally tied to Asia Minorand Mesopotamia. Caftan-like robes are depicted in the palace reliefs of ancient Persia dating to 600 B.C.E. By the thirteenth century C.E., the style had spread into Eastern Europe and Russia, exactly where caftan styles supplied the model for a number of different fundamental garments nicely into the nineteenth century.

By the 13th century, the caftan had spread into Eastern Europe and Russia, exactly where caftan designs provided the model for a number of different basic garments well into the nineteenth century. From Russia the caftan made it way to Turkey. The Turks also adopted caftans, and then brought the style to Hungary and Poland when they conquered those lands.

In the Ottoman Empire of the 16th century, Caftans of varying lengths were constructed from wealthy Ottoman satins and velvets of silk and metallic threads were worn by courtiers to indicate status, preserved in court treasuries, used as tribute, and offered as "robes of honor" to going to ambassadors, heads of state, essential government officials, and master artisans working for the Imperial court.

Men's caftans often had gores added, causing the caftan to flare at the bottom, while women's garments were much more closely fitted. Ladies had been much more likely to add sashes or belts. A sultan and his courtiers might layer two or 3 caftans with varying length sleeves for ceremonial functions. An inner short-sleeved caftan, was usually secured with an embroidered sash or jeweled belt, whilst the outer caftan could have slits at the shoulder via which the wearer's arms were thrust to display the sleeves (sometimes with detachable expansions) of the inner caftan to show off the contrasting fabrics of the garments.

Following a visit to Morocco in the early 1960s, Diana Vreeland published a series of articles in Vogue championing the caftan as trendy for "The Stunning People". Yves Saint Laurent and Halston were designers who included caftan-styled clothing in their lines. Since that time, caftans continue to have a market for evening and at-home put on. The caftan is now marketed globally as "fashion."

With a long and elegant history- worn by emperors and kings, contemporary use of the term "caftan" can be broadened to encompass a number of similarly styled garment kinds. These days caftans might be worn with a sash or belt. Some caftans are open to the front or side and are tied or fastened with looped buttons running from neck to waist. Based on use, caftans differ from hip to floor length. The option of fabric is limitless, although silks and cottons are still the most used. Embellished, embroidered, bejeweled and other wise decked out, the caftan flatters any figure.

Are you losing time searching for plus size kaftan on various other web sites?