Cool in a Kaftan

You can wait ages for the right kaftan to come along and then, like buses, three turn up all at once.

Glamorous and easy to wear, kaftans are loved by everyone from the rich and famous to the downright ordinary (me!)

Fenella Fielding, Liz Taylor & Joan Collins showing us how it should be done.

Marisa Berenson in gold caftan by Tina Leser. Photo by Henry Clarke, 1968. (Source)

The kaftans of dreams - 1970s fashion shoot

What exactly is a kaftan? If you search through the hundreds of listings currently on eBay (over sixty pages at the last count) you'd be forgiven for being confused as you'll find everything from kurtas, maxis, abayas, tunics, ponchos, beach cover-ups and tent dresses.

According to the Collins Dictionary definition :

 Kaftan in British or caftan (Noun)

1. A long coat-like garment, usually worn with a belt and made of rich fabric, worn in the East

2. An imitation of this, worn, especially by women, consisting of a loose dress with long wide sleeves.

(L) Dior emerald green kaftan Photo from Vogue, September 1966. (R) Sharon Tate, Photo by Orlando Suero, 1966. (Source)

In her book, A Fashion Alphabet (1968), Late professor of Fashion Design at the Royal College of Art, Janey Ironside writes:

Traditional Hebrew Kaftan (Source)

Kaftan (also caftan): This was originally a garment worn by Hebrew men in Palestine in Biblical times. It was an open-sleeved over tunic under which emerged the sleeves of a lower garment. The Kaftan was left unseamed at the sides as far as the armhole and had a purple tassel at the end of a purple thread hanging on each corner, standing for the four consonants of the holy name J.H.V.H.

Christian Dior Printemps Collection from 1967 chiffon kaftan (Source)

Christian Dior translated this man's garment into female terms in one of his most applauded collections that was built around the theme, in which the kaftan became an overcoat slit to the armholes over a long-sleeved dress; the evening version was a long satin kaftan over a slim floor length dress. The shape has been perennially used for dressing gowns and negligees for men and women, but with the renewed interest in the East since the Second World War and Dior's couture version, the kaftan has become a fashionable garment for almost any occasion, in varying lengths and many versions.

Vintage kaftan worn with 1960s lime suede go-go boots (gift from Vonda, a blog reader & virtual pal); 1960s mustard suede fringed shoulder bag (Cancer UK clearance shop); 1960s navy felt hat (Age UK) 

Wednesday's outfit was this 1970s, hand embroidered, open-weave cotton kaftan. It was supposed to have been bought for stock but I tried it on for size and ended up taking three dresses out of my wardrobe so I could keep it. Just look at all that work! 

This reminds me of the kaftans you use to find handing outside bijou boutiques in Mediterranean beach resorts, tempting in the cruise boat day trippers with money to burn.

When I spotted this handmade hooded cotton kaftan on my friend Val's Vintage Facebook page (HERE) I was instantly reminded of that iconic rooftop photo of Talitha Getty in Marrakesh and I knew buying it would be the perfect feel good gift to myself to make up for the disappointment of last weekend.

SOURCE

Shown the right way round with my Gujarati pendant (left) and on the reverse so you can admire the amazing block printed cotton it's made from. 

Today's kaftan is an eBay find (amazing what treasure you find on a Sunday lunchtime when everyone else is eating roast dinners or whatever else it is that normal people do instead of bidding on vintage gems).

 This Indian-made, embroidered gauzy cotton number is very sheer - I'm wearing leggings and a bodysuit underneath for modesty's sake. With the Dry Clean Only washing instructions, the cut and the metal hook and eyes fasteners than run down the back of the neck, I'd say this is from the 1960s - especially as it's got a bit of a Bond girl look to it (although there's nothing Bond Girl about wearing it around the charity shops this morning). I'm wondering if the Ayesha's label is an early Ayesha Davar, a London-based British Asian designer who made exceptionally beautiful clothes using Indian cottons and block printed fabric in the 1970s.

 I'm wearing it with some leopard print Jones the Bootmaker ankle boots Jon took as part payment for a dress when a customer at a festival didn't have enough cash, a ginormous Indian brass pendant, some brass earrings I bought from a women's charity project in Tamil Nadu and a contemporary black wool felt hat from a charity shop.

It's another bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, whatever you're up to have a fabulous time and see you on the other side!

Linking to Patti & the gang for Visible Monday.