Gomlek
In the SCA-period Ottoman Empire, gömleks are, in essence, undershirts. They were therefore worn, by both genders, as the bottommost layer of garment for their upper bodies. It's a well-known garment that is referenced in many period works, and worn by almost everyone in the region during late SCA period. The act of researching the gömlek, however, is also a prime example of a major issue with re-creating a complete Ottoman outfit. Underclothes are rarely displayed in images without the accompanying over clothes [1], an issue which hides details of fit and construction. In addition, written descriptions fail to give the kind of details that help re-creational efforts. As well, the Ottoman clothing was such that outer layers were sumptuous, coveted items, kept through many generations, but the inner layers, worn next to the skin, were more-or-less disposable. A gomlek made b a reenactor, made form white line with gold trim along the internal seams, which is the custom
As a result, I define "underclothes", in an Ottoman sense, as garments that were worn under other clothing, in direct contact with one's skin. This, of course, only applies for high-end garments, such as those made for the Sultan, or presented by him as gifts. But the wearer, in most cases, never cared about a shirt -- it might be nicely made, but it wasn't seen, and thus was not invested with "permanence", by and large. Without that sense of permanence, and the importance it gave to the garment, preservation was never considered important, and thus was not implemented in the same way that they would save sirwals and anteris. To combat this issue, this document will deal in the limited data that is extant for the gömlek, working with one particular design of undershirt that shows up repeatedly in both images and extant garments, and what the extant items and images means in terms of re-constructive efforts. We'll focus on men's garments first, as there are a couple of potential extant versions of them, and they are simpler than the the women's garments. We'll take up the latter afterwards, adding to the base that the male clothing provides.
Perhaps the most intriguing outfit is seen in a couple of images listed as part of the Edwin Binney collection, as listed in the book TURKISH TREASURES FROM THE COLLECTION OF EDWIN BINNEY 3RD. These images illistrate a folk tale of two lovers, Majun and Laila, a traditional method of storytelling in the culture(s) involved. At one point in the tale, Majun wanders the desert, and the illustrator chose to depict him in his underwear. The image, to me, seems to indicate a few aspects of gömleks in period. One is the deep front slit, that in this case looks to have been "made" into a deep v-neck by showing Majun as having belted the gömlek . The belt is evident if you look at the waistline, there's a line going around the self-same waist that indicates some sort of belt. That the line of the front slit extends to the end of the garment arguers against it being simply a deep v-neck. Rather, it indicates that this outfit is likely to be in-line with others of this period, that we'll see in a moment, and that the shirt is slit all the way down.
It also shows something about the nature of clothing in this region. As I mentioned before, garments in Ottoman culture that were saved were, usually, near top-of-the line outfits, the haute couture of period clothing. Basing one's entire re-constructive efforts on those would be like basing an attempt to re-create modern American outfits with only high-end well-tailored suits, which is part of what makes the Majun image so important. Although we can tell little about the fabric itself, we can tell that the construction, if the artist's lines are anything to go by, was simple enough. This simplicity of design compares well with the extant examples of tısımlı gömlek, or "Talismanic shirts", perhaps the only surviving period examples of Ottoman shirts. These were extremely elaborate shirts, and well within the parameters of "permanence" defined above as they took 2+ years to make, accorind to one source. The book PALACE OF GOLD AND LIGHT has a shirt from the Mehmed II era, and excellent photos of the front and back of said garment.
A close examination of this garment indicates a critical element to the re-creation effort. Kathleen Grimes, in private correspondence, indicated that she has seen the above gömlek in person, and that it lacks shoulder seams. Indeed, the overall simplicity of the design is suggestive of the SCA-traditional t-tunic. In addition, the images from the book shows no seams in either the front, or the back, of the shirt. With the lack of shoulder seams, one assumes the gömlek was made from one piece of material, with the selvages on the right and left sides, a slit up the front, and a slit, not a hole, cut for the neckline.
This conclusion must be cautioned, as I've not seen one in-person, and the extremely elaborate nature of the garment's illustrations makes a final determination difficult. However, even with finely brocaded and/or embroidered fabrics, seam lines tend to stand out, and no such lines stand out here. In addition, the conversation with Kathleen Grimes indicates that my assumptions are correct. Compare with this shirt from AGE OF SULTAN SÜLEYMAN, which shows a similar lack of seam work.
Assuming, again, that tısımlı gömleks are, in terms of basic construction, the same as the “standard” gömleks in period, other assumptions can be made. It looks as though there was a slit at the bottom, on each side of the garment. This slit looks to have been placed for freedom of leg movement, as my estimates are that it sits too low to be open for the hips. It looks designed to go up approx. 4 to 6 inches, but exact measurement are difficult, thanks to the lack of scale in the images.
From the extant garments, it appears that gömleks were, like almost everything else in Ottoman clothing, a lined garment, with linen and cotton the two choices for men, and linen preferred to cotton. It is possible that the extraordinary nature of the tısımlı gömlek may have caused the makers to ensure it's longevity via lining the garment; this is something that requires additional research. I would say, for now, that lining one's everyday gömlek was likely optional. For the AGE OF SULTAN SÜLEYMAN shirt, the accompanying description notes that it's linen with a cotton lining, and "rose" facings, fabric unknown – this is best seen when looking at the neckline of the outfit. There's also a slight height increase of the collar, over the rest of the garment's otherwise-straight shoulder line. I suggest this is a sign that the rose facing was used to provide a slight collar for the gömlek, as well. Also note the sleeves; on the longer-sleeved garment, they are tapered to the wrist, and even on the "cap-sleeved" shift, there's a bit of taper.
Although we have no direct pictorial evidence, nor extant garments, for women's gömleks, there are a few images and descriptions that suggest some of the slight differences. One that is known is in fabric, as women were permitted to wear silk next to the skin. The sheerness of the gömleks that we see on period women suggest silk, although both cotton and linen are suitable alternatives; the weavers in period were adept at making fine versions of those fabrics. We are lucky in that a number of period descriptions of women's clothing have been translated, and compiled into the online work THE COSTUMES OF OTTOMAN WOMEN. In said work, we find a number of references to women's gömleks that describe the fabric and color: "In the travel writings of Joachim Sinzendorf who worked as a chaplain in the Imperial Embassy in Istanbul between the years 1577-81, he says that the women wore [...] a loose garment [...] of red, yellow, or blue material." ...and... "The first written foreign source for the 16th century, was by the Italian Mevavino, he gives information about the house dress of women: The women's chemise is very like that of the men, but the neck sleeves and all the edges are embroidered. Most of them are made of taffeta and in the lively colours that they loved most, red, green or other colours. The edges of the garments are decorated with raised silk embroidery, and are lined with a thin material."
