Pleated breeches (No. 087)

Wide, heavily pleated breeches (No. 087) (Turk çufa şalvar/çuha) made of blue broadcloth. The gar­ment consists of three pieces, the middle part and two side parts for the legs. The middle part is one piece from the front to the back and is the broadest, measuring 115cm. The length is 140cm (70cm in front and 70cm at the back). Each side piece is 60cm broad and has an opening 16.5cm wide. An additional strip of cotton cloth (7x2cm) is sewn to the waist to make a casing for the belt (Turk: uçkur), which passes through it to gather the pleats. In this case the original was replaced with a black ribbon. In the middle, where the belt was tied, there is a 15.5cm long opening in front and another opening of the same length at the back. The seams and the edges of the leg openings are decorated with black braids (gaitania turk. Gaytan or kaytan, cotton or silk cord, braid)and cords (Turk: şerit), 2cm wide, made of black silk thread. The outside of the leg pieces are decorated with twisted applied silk threads, forming a wickerwork pattern and solid curv­ing motifs ending in spirals. This schematized vegetal motif extends up the sides from the bottom almost to the top. At the top of the design is a bird. The leaves of the main motif are covered with embroidery in red, purple and green. The black designs are filled with a wickerwork pattern. The curved leaves recall the tulip flower (lale). The decoration seems to have been inspired by Ottoman designs. The breeches are lined with white cotton ma­terial. They are old and worn.