OMG SELJUK AND EARLY OTTOMAN ERA DRAMAS ARE HIDEOUS TOO!! LIKE IT'S GIVING BLACK LEATHER JIHADI BDSM COSTUME AND NO REFINEMENT. Seljuk era has a lot of art left, we can see colorful robes and flowy hairs on their porcelain but here we are...
We literally still have bindallı and silkworm production in Beypazarı and Nallıhan and they are so intricate, I don't know where to begin but even in Akkoyunlu miniatures(Late Medieval Sunni Regime)women are depicted with free hair and silk robes with kaftan over them. Of course women cover when outside but in series even within houses they are heavily dressed which makes no sense.I really don't get this pretentious conservatism in our series.
I recommend watching the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from Muhteşem Yüzyıl. It’s in Turkish, so you might not understand it, but perhaps you can find English subtitles. The costume designer, Serdar Başbuğ, mentions that in the Byzantine Empire, the color purple was exclusively used by the very highest classes, which might explain why, historically, it was a favorite color of Hürrem. He explains that they didn’t aim to create a completely historically accurate visual representation. Instead, they took inspiration from historical miniatures, clothing from later periods, and blended them together, as Başbuğ puts it, “melting them in one pot” to create a more dynamic, contemporary, and visually engaging costume design for the screen. Başbuğ also mentions that the flashy, garish colors Hürrem wore in the early episodes symbolized her lack of refinement, poor taste, and, so to speak, her “village” background, showing she was not yet accustomed to the palace’s etiquette. Every color they used has a specific meaning. For instance, darker, brownish tones were chosen for Mahidevran. Pelin Karahan, the actress who played Mihrimah, said that the colors of the costumes they wore in each episode were specifically chosen to convey subconscious meanings to the audience. This series doesn’t aim to strictly retell history but rather to be an attention-grabbing and enjoyable viewing experience. Personally, I’d find it boring if they dressed exactly as they did in history. But hearing about the historical realities in your video is also intriguing. Also when it comes to cleavage, first, they were depicted mostly in Harem in which girls were free. Second, royals did not really pay attention to the rules, rules were for the peasants. But you are right, Ilber Ortayli, a very famous historian that I respect so much, also criticized that.
Just because it conveys meaning, doesn’t mean the costumes are good. They may look contemporary and engaging but still give off this cheap, bland, orientalist-like look. I would have preferred accuracy over this monstrosity 😭
They didn't do a bad job in terms of creativity. However, they tried to blend too many elements together and it lost all historical meaning. I can't see past the horrible fabrics and silhouettes to care about the meaning in the colours. And that kind of cleavage did not exist in 16th century Turkey, regardless of social status or whether a girl lived in the imperial harem or not.
Also in some of behind the scenes interviews they mentioned that by harem records, is known that inside the harem women were used to wearing clothes that kind of resembled their origin background. That's why there are different body shapes. For example, is known that two generations later, Safiya Sultan used stays under her dresses in the harem. Women in the harem were from different parts of the world and were used to different wardrobe traditions. Underbust looked like soft corset parts from the show were supposed to bring impression of European custom based inspiration and the desire of high-ranked concubines to still maintain some of their cultural heritage. For example, Nurbanu Sultan changed the hammam habit in the palace because she used her influence to bring into the palace a metal bathtub. Her bathing habit was so strong, that small pools were added in royal hammam. So it's not so hard imagine, that even lower-ranked concubines had some power over their wardrobe.
@@historianhilly Agreed but in fairness Magnificent Century like any costume drama is for entertainment purposes. At most there wasn't The I Dream of Jeannie type costumes except for Firuze's dance so there was that. It was a missed opportunity for some Ottoman authenticity.
Oh, finally someone is covering this! I got hooked on this series during lockdown and I always wanted to know more about the (gorgeous) costumes. I suspect they took great liberties - at least with the women's dresses. But I'm looking forward to hearing someone else's opinion!
@@raraavis7782 women and people in general in the ottoman Empire did have some liberties, there was some religious tolerance (under taxes ofc) however ottoman MUSLIM woman were allowed to do things like going outside, shopping, working etc...
I’d love to see more! I’ve known this shows costumes were wholly inaccurate, the tiaras, the busts, the silhouette, the way they dressed when going out / interactions with the men, hair even, the list goes on!
I am so down for a series on this! Feeding the algorithm after subscribing to your channel. The amount of hours I spent during the pandemic and since watching and rewatching The Magnificent Century, only to be left out to dry when there was nothing else I could deep dive into (unlike with any other historical series pertaining to European history) is really quite something. Glad you're here to fill in the gaps!
It's so nice to see content that doesn't focus on Western European historical shows/fashion! I'm very interested in learning more about Ottoman women's fashion, do you have any websites, books, or any other resources that you would recommend?
Sadly, there aren't any comprehensive English-language books on Ottoman fashion throughout the centuries. I would recommend the work of historians Nurhan Atasoy and Hulya Tezcan. They have some work in English, like Nurhan Atasoy's book 'Ipek:Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets'. There are many academic articles online, however, these generally need subscriptions through a university account or can be accessed through payment. There are some valuable online resources like the Ottoman Turkish Garment Database, MET museum and Reconstructinghistory.com that provide photos of garments and patterns. I believe the last website also sells a book about Ottoman fashion. Hope this helped!
Muhteşem Yüzyıl actually has a documentary called "Gizli Dünya" (Secret World) which also reveals how the costumes, and accessories are made. In the first episode, the costume designer mentions "The approach we followed while preparing this series was to start from the Ottoman era and aim to present a much more dynamic, contemporary, and captivating visual experience that would engage today's audience. I researched visuals of 16th-century costumes. Naturally, most of the available examples are miniatures. We also looked at the robes displayed at Topkapı Palace from the period following this era. After blending all these elements together, we discussed what we could create on top of that." So I assume they prioritized leveling up the visuals over the historical accuracy.
And they took this concept straight from The Tudors, that had a similar outlook in how they presented, especially the female costumes. The great balance is keeping the costumes looking "period costume" enough, without making them look like modern dresses (like Reign did).
@@exosproudmamabear558 But she had more power and influence than Nurbanu and Safiye. Her reign as Valide Sultan was the height of The Sultanate of Women.
@@einezcrespo2107 So what it doesnt change she wasnt a great ruler per se. And there was nothing magnificent about her rule. Look I am a girl but I dont wanna sugarcoat a bad ruler because she is a woman. Granted she wasnt that bad half of the later came sultans who were degenerates at best so she was relatively good but her century was full of inner strifes and weakening of the empire. But I am also biased I dont like Ottoman empire much,I would take Seljuklu any day over Ottoman rule.
Please do more 😁 I found this very interesting. I remember the first time I watched anything of MC and I thought to myself while the women's dresses were beautiful and eye catching, they seemed not quite right, I suspected it wasn't accurate to history either. I'd love a longer series and would happily listen to you rant all day about it 😂
Thank you for this video! You already covered the main aspects but I would love to watch a series about this subject in more detail! It does not have to be about the Magnificent Century, I love to learn more about the 16th century. Ottoman Clothing.
Thanks for this video! What bugged me from the women costume wasn’t really the silhouette or the patterns, but the quality of the fabrics. You can tell those are cheap fabrics from a mile away. It just cuts off the illusion that they’re the imperial family. I get that the budget maybe wasn’t so big, so either don’t do it, or reduce the episode count, or make the character wear their clothing at least twice. Upper classes wore their clothing more than once as even they know how hard it was to get silk and other expensive fabrics
I mean, by season three, they should have been able to up the quality of the fabrics, no? I remember Halit and Meryem reprising their roles as Suleiman and Hurrem for a stinking orange commercial (lol).
I agree, the show was so popular that they could have allowed for more accurate - or at least more natural-looking- fabrics. And yes, they definitely wore their clothes more than once!
Yes please, could you do a lot longer episode comparing how the individual characters were dressed in the show to how they would have been dressed in real life. I also love the idea of you doing the mens clothes and the accessories could you do the furnishings as well because I am curious as to if the beds were accurate. I make dollshouse miniatures and I desperately want to make an harem room box (a single room)
Thank you so much for this video! There's lot of info available about the European fashion available from the mediaeval and modern periods but I have rarely seen other regions being covered. It's fascinating to hear what the historical documents say about how people dressed back then. Will be looking forward to your future videos! ❤❤
That's very true my Friend I am from algerai and I would love to see peopel react on our traditional drees cus I think it's gorgeous and culture is so important and I would be happy for that ❤
I would love to see a series about Ottoman Empire TV shows!!! I'm enjoying kudus fattihi Salahuddin Ayyubi.... Please do that one as well! Also, I just watched your video where you made the Ottoman Turkish clothing and i want to buy that top now! You did a lovely job 😊
Turks made a movie about Kosem Sultan's life with historical dresses but it was not watched very much. (The name of the movie is Kosem Sultan 2010) The reason why most of the historical dresses made by Turks look like fantasy dresses is that Turks make the costumes or produce the fabrics of many historical and fantasy movies in Europe. Some of the movies that Turks worked on the costume side are Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean, 300 Spartans, Game of Thrones and The Hobbit. For this reason, Turkish costume designers do not take any risks in historical productions (since the Turkish film industry does not have a big budget) and they make ready-made costumes or shape that costume. Also, before this series was shot, the costume designers said that they would be very little in line with history. Still, it was closer to history than historical series shot in Europe. In some historical series in Europe, they cast a man who lived in the 18th century in the 16th century, and Europeans watch this as a historical series. That's why Magnificent Century is currently a masterpiece in historical series.
Also, we don't know much about what the women in the harem wore. In other words, we don't know what was wrong and right. Safiye Sultan also had dresses brought from England and Germany. We don't know what these dresses looked like. In other words, the Ottoman harem was very complicated.
Did you watch my video? I don't think you listened to what I was saying. Yes, Muhtesem Yuzyil costumes were successful from an artistic/ cinematic point of view. However, my analysis is from a historical perspective. We definitely know what they wore in the harem in terms of silhouette and fabrics of that era.We also have clothes that are in Topkapi Museum. These show us the fabric types and shapes of the dresses. Call a spade a spade. The production team on Muhtesem Yüzyıl purposefully made the choice to depict it in a fantastical way and as a historian, I would like to inform viewers about correct styles.
I only watched a few episodes of this series until the main actress was aged up. At the time I really loved the fantasy look of the costumes (I agree, very Reign!). I'd love to hear what you have to say more in depth about the rest of the costumes including the men - it's super fascinating to learn what is fantasy and what is historically inspired.
I also think some of the costumes were really pretty, but the historian in me couldn’t get over their inaccuracy 😅 I’ll be uploading a video about the men’s costumes very soon !
My feeling was that the women's costumes were pseudo western European. I would prefer to see costuming that more closely replicates the Ottoman culture and clothing of the time. It doesn't need to be perfect, but a reasonable approximation would be better.
@patty4349 Europeans used to took inspiration from ottoman. This woman is claiming to be historian but she isn't providing any source , also she may studied in a specific education dressing example fo the commoners.
Waiting for the continuation Next series ideas: Dirilis Ertugrul Payitaht Abdulhamid (this might go forever its nerve wrecking even for me and I'm not a historian)
I think the only thing worse than the costumes is the HAIR. I wasn't aware the Ottomans invented hair curlers in the 16th century! Not to mention save for a few veils and tiaras, not a hat or cap in site! (Also the makeup is... VERY obvious but I've come to expect lipstick and eyeliner from period pieces).
While I'm with you on the costumes and taking the time to make something most time accurate but the fabric choices. You have to think of the budget, it is clear they wanted as many dresses as possible. That can add up really quickly. I made a Tudor style gown with "cheap" fabrics, and it still costs $120 for just materials. So while the colors were over the top, the fabric selected makes sense for what they were doing and how many pieces they need.
I think it would've cost less for them to make accurate 16th century clothing. Ottoman fashion at the time, as I've shown in the video, was much more simplistic. It would've required less fabric and certainly less ornaments, like the laces and jewels that they added on. Also, Tudor fashion was much more ornate and had more elements (like stays, fitted bodices, kirtles) than an Ottoman kaftan.
In the words of Emperor Palpatine: Do it. I will say that there was this "kaftan" that Nur Fettahoğlu wore that looked to be velvet but it could be polyester for all I know, it was patterned and looked stunning on her. But Nur looks phenomenal in brassy or earthy tones anyway.
I loved the touch of them wearing the tall hats with the veil however iirc they arent ottoman period accessories they're what European ls depicted as ottoman headdresses and turbans in an attempt to feminise them more for the women
@historianhilly I've heard people say they're supposed to be a hotoz hat but I think from what I've read they were small flat caps almost like today's pillbox hats but I'm not sure about this
"my life goal, I'm a historian, I'm invested in it." As an art historian, I hear you! Yes, more please. Also, Ottoman empire. I do not know enough about that at all.
I watched it and even not knowing much of Ottman dresses at this time I thought the costumes look a bit weird..like you said a mixture of all and nothing from western dresses from 1100 to 1780...
I would love it if you made a series about this and other shows!! Personally, I haven't watched the show, but I have seen enough pictures and gif to know they weren't being accurate. Learning about how they weren't accurate and why Ottoman tailors constructed garments the way they did was so interesting. I didn't know motives were only for the upper classes. I'm waiting for the day we get more accurate clothing so badly. Is there any show that has been accurate? The ones taking place in the Ottoman empire always feel off in some way. Maybe seksenler is close from what my parents told me 🤔
There aren’t really any shows that have been totally accurate. Diriliş Ertuğrul had some great costumes but also some terrible ones. Seksenler is definitely more accurate , probably because it’s easier to depict the 80s than the Medieval era.
OMG ! Finaly somone speaks About that, i have talked with my mom about that severl times telling her this is not true at all and the dress will be more conservative and more modest for sur Any way You have done great job and pls can you make a vidéo about algerain traditionnelle dress I would love to see this cus they never speak about Northen African fashion in the internet Peace sis 🫂 ❤️🩹🇩🇿
If I make a video about costumes around the Ottoman Empire, including Algeria at one point in the 16th century, I'll make sure to include Algerian dress :)
Hi, I’m a new subscriber, I have loved the magnificent century for years ever since I found it on RUclips and I feel like more people should talk about it. Could you make a video on the men’s costumes and on the sequel series, the magnificent century Kosem
Welcome! I definitely will be discussing the men's costumes and yes, will probably make one about 'Kösem' because that's set in the early 17th century.
@azabujuban-hito-dake except this magnificent century show actually served HOT GOWNS and beautiful fantasized fashion that more or less correspond with the later ottoman era of fashion like the kaftan, the garments, etc... The other shows are just not it, they don't even look good (costumes) they be giving dollar store cosplay costume... Very plastic-y
@@GalacticR.E.M the creator isn't even accurate. She is talking about one type of dressing. If you are making historical adaptation it's important to give modern so audience can relate.
I already followed, now i would love you to pls fix every dress on procreate or smthing. Like choose one and say that the siluet should be like this and draw on it. Then you add the patterns by drawing on it.. Just it would be soo nice to see the difference. Thaaanks
The series took artistic license with much more than wardrobe. Although the political conquests and chronology is accurate, there are several fictional characters in the series, interpersonal relationships that conflict with well documented historical account, children entirely left out of the story and real life familial ties that weren't mentioned. That said, the Magnificent Century is by far the most impressive series ever.
I had wondered about the cleavage and such but then I was wondering if maybe it’s relaxed because these are all women living in the harem, they’re not going out into town dressed like that and when they do travel somewhere, they do wear more modest clothing. I do like the costumes, even though they’re wrong, but I didn’t realize they were Reign territory wrong xD
Yes, the Osman series is definitely one I would like to review because I was impressed with * some * of the costumes. And a more general video into Suleyman-era dress is something I can look into :)
Ah yes my favourite mess of a historical fantasy soap opera. It is very telling though that even someone like me who knows next to nothing about Ottoman fashion history could tell that some of the costumes were far more 21st century than 16th century.
@@Sustain_life they're beautiful made you mean. "Monstrosities" where? I've never seen prettier crowns with much detail. I'm not talking about how accurate they're but their designs and the creativity behind each piece is just amazing. Western shows only give us French and English hoods and the "crowns" are usually a blob-like piece of metal with no design
@@GalacticR.E.M I get what you mean but from a historical viewpoint nothing about it alludes to its contextual era. Aesthetically speaking they are beautiful. I hope that answers your question.
I was fine with the necklines and all the other things even though i knew it wasnt accurate at all, but there was a dress mahidevran wore when süleyman announced he and hürrem got married and it had transparent sleeves. That was too much for me, yes it is a TV series but that dress was not a good choice, i think mihriban wore the same one but in blue, it wasnt as bad as mahidevran's maybe because of the colour
The first line of drama says the IT IS INSPIRED BY HISTORY AND IT IS A FICTIONAL DRAMA It was a drama to attract the audience internationally It was a fictional drama
Sadly, I can't recommend a show where the costuming is even slightly accurate. Maybe 'Dirilis Ertugrul', they did a great job with many of their textiles. However, since there are no surviving garments or detailed paintings from the 13th century, we can only call it design choice :(
I love the series but the costumes on women drove me crazy. I kept thinking that is not an accurate style. I have made historical costumes so love watching shows to see fashions. Thanks for posting this. Hopefully next time the tv producers will hire you or someone like you.
Could you do a video on the series "Diriliş Ertuğrul" which depicts the early years of the Ottoman or " Kurtuluş Osman" I have heard that they have better costumes in the sense of accuracy.
Thank you thank you thank you. I love the magnificent century series but the costumes were not historically accurate at all. ottoman clothing is so beautiful and diverse throughout its history and many regions, it varied from religious groups as well. And so often it is rarely talked about by western historians. Please make more videos about this :)
So what it still looks hideous and out of place. Setting is an important element for a story. And I bet even as a Turkish you dont know know how an acurate clothing looked like because I have little to no idea despite seeing them in topkapı and reading depictions.
I actually disagree that the dresses are Reign level bad, mostly because in that show, they literally took dresses off the rack. While Mag Century definitely uses modern fabrics, almost all of the silhouettes are the same. They all have similar necklines, the small waist, long skirt, long medieval sleeves. In that way, it's more like the aforementioned Bridgerton. The costume designers for this show seemed pretty intent that the women in this show look as pretty and sexy as possible (much like early Western period shows). Meryem Uzerli talks some about how the designers would design her dresses to be extremely tight and form-fitting to control her weight and appearance, and it's obvious that they prioritized a fantastical aesthetic.
I think Bridgerton still had most of the Regency period silhouettes (empire waist dresses) correct whereas the kaftans in the Magnificent Century are the same style as 18th-century Ottoman fashion. But yes, they definitely prioritised sexiness over historicity.
@historianhilly because it is ficción it is based in history but fictionate, it says in every chapter, and the hostoricians are mentioned in the credits as well, and maybe they get carried away, like in the Bridgertons
Thank you so much for this! The costumes of this show were just atrocious (and so were many of the more soapy plotlines, tbh). I don't understand people trying to defend this monstrosity with excuses like "adjusting the costumes to modern tastes". I'm a person living in the 21st century (obvs) and these costumes look simply atrocious to me, so they obviously didn't adjust anything to my taste. Like, they don't even look good by 21st century evening wear standards, most of it looks just cheap and gaudy. And I don't understand this expectation some people seem to have that accurate 16th century clothing can't be gorgeous--that betrays such a limited and uninformed understanding of material history.
That was one of my main complaints. 16th-century Ottoman fashion is unique, interesting and beautiful in its own way. It shouldn't have to fit 21st-century standards.
Yes please. Make something that shows reality. Especially for the Ottoman history. They were very good at copying things but these costumes are too much.
Interesting video. Doesn't surprise me at all, but it is a mighty shame. Because of these inaccuracy's, it's too easy for others to build up misconceptions about history and different cultures or fall into the trap of orientalism. Whilst I love the show, I prefer Historical Accuracy over visual engaging.
@historianhilly thanks Hilly, I would love to see some accurate reactions of ottoman clothing throughout the centuries (and many other cultures) in a future video, unless you've done one already and I've missed it.
The creators of the Magnificent Century were very well aware about their costumes - cuts were wrong, some fabrics were wrong, silhouettes totally wrong. And the head of costume department in one of the interviews said that while it is true that historically their costumes were incorrect, especially female costumes. The “box cut” kaftans and overall dress for women of that era did not make women of the harem look beautiful. Women in the harem were devout Muslims, setting the standards, and showing much skin at all was grossly inappropriate for the time. Women were covered head to toe. Rich opulent fabrics, but covered nonetheless. Standards of beauty were based on completely different values, and trying to accentuate those (hair - much care for the hair and skin in harem) was nearly Impossible to get across in this medium. One cannot get across in a film the softness of the skin, the scent of a woman, the thickness and shine of her hair. That’s why they opted for the visual accents, such as those costumes. Besides, if we truly look at the Magnificent Century from a historic perspective - events and people taking part in them during Suleyman’s reign were also very inaccurate. They added nonexistent relationships, storylines to add drama to the show, to accommodate actors’ schedules and departures from cast as well. So, yes, they did have historians in the set, to keep the story together for the “feel” of the period. But accuracy was not a goal of the TV series.
They could have easily stuck to the main silhouette of 16th-century kaftans and added their own creative tweaks. The fact that they did this for the men's costumes (which are much more accurate) means that they didn't think the women's costumes were sexy or appealing enough to modern audiences, which is sexist and objectifying to women.
interestingly, the by far largest turkish community outside Turkey is Germany - where not one broadcasting company bought the series; the ignorance of Germans towards turkish culture is deeply lamentable and embarassing
They made the costumes strictly to appeal to an international audience. The Tudors did the same thing. The show was historical, dramatized history, anyway.
People wouldn't watch it if costumes were accurate, kinda burka ones. Also past dresses were not as colorful as in MY plus we know very little about harem.
That is kind of true but there are a few kaftans we still have in topkapı and they are pretty colorful have intricate motifs. I am sure not all of them are like that but they dont need to go for absulute accuracy they just need to set the tone. Burka never used in Turkey we still do not use it they were using it somethşng similar to Burqa in Byzantium Empire tho. Black chaddor used by certain people although harem didnt use it. Chador came in 19th century anyway it would be impossible to see in this era
They definitely did not wear burkas. Many different colours were used for royal clothing in the Ottoman court, especially brighter ones. The Ottomans didn't like dark colours like black and navy. They preferred patterned and coloured fabrics. Sticking to more natural-looking dyes rather than synthetic/ metallic colours would have done the job.
OMG SELJUK AND EARLY OTTOMAN ERA DRAMAS ARE HIDEOUS TOO!! LIKE IT'S GIVING BLACK LEATHER JIHADI BDSM COSTUME AND NO REFINEMENT. Seljuk era has a lot of art left, we can see colorful robes and flowy hairs on their porcelain but here we are...
"Jihadi BDSM costume". I just died. I always found those faux leather kaftan-y things so funny.
We literally still have bindallı and silkworm production in Beypazarı and Nallıhan and they are so intricate, I don't know where to begin but even in Akkoyunlu miniatures(Late Medieval Sunni Regime)women are depicted with free hair and silk robes with kaftan over them. Of course women cover when outside but in series even within houses they are heavily dressed which makes no sense.I really don't get this pretentious conservatism in our series.
Jihadi? ... Europeans don't have any history except colonization...
It’s either pretentious conservatism or over sexualization like where is the accuracy😭
@@woojinin_gotunu_ye We're so cooked 💀
I recommend watching the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from Muhteşem Yüzyıl. It’s in Turkish, so you might not understand it, but perhaps you can find English subtitles. The costume designer, Serdar Başbuğ, mentions that in the Byzantine Empire, the color purple was exclusively used by the very highest classes, which might explain why, historically, it was a favorite color of Hürrem. He explains that they didn’t aim to create a completely historically accurate visual representation. Instead, they took inspiration from historical miniatures, clothing from later periods, and blended them together, as Başbuğ puts it, “melting them in one pot” to create a more dynamic, contemporary, and visually engaging costume design for the screen.
Başbuğ also mentions that the flashy, garish colors Hürrem wore in the early episodes symbolized her lack of refinement, poor taste, and, so to speak, her “village” background, showing she was not yet accustomed to the palace’s etiquette. Every color they used has a specific meaning. For instance, darker, brownish tones were chosen for Mahidevran. Pelin Karahan, the actress who played Mihrimah, said that the colors of the costumes they wore in each episode were specifically chosen to convey subconscious meanings to the audience.
This series doesn’t aim to strictly retell history but rather to be an attention-grabbing and enjoyable viewing experience. Personally, I’d find it boring if they dressed exactly as they did in history. But hearing about the historical realities in your video is also intriguing.
Also when it comes to cleavage, first, they were depicted mostly in Harem in which girls were free. Second, royals did not really pay attention to the rules, rules were for the peasants. But you are right, Ilber Ortayli, a very famous historian that I respect so much, also criticized that.
Just because it conveys meaning, doesn’t mean the costumes are good. They may look contemporary and engaging but still give off this cheap, bland, orientalist-like look. I would have preferred accuracy over this monstrosity 😭
They didn't do a bad job in terms of creativity. However, they tried to blend too many elements together and it lost all historical meaning. I can't see past the horrible fabrics and silhouettes to care about the meaning in the colours. And that kind of cleavage did not exist in 16th century Turkey, regardless of social status or whether a girl lived in the imperial harem or not.
Also in some of behind the scenes interviews they mentioned that by harem records, is known that inside the harem women were used to wearing clothes that kind of resembled their origin background. That's why there are different body shapes. For example, is known that two generations later, Safiya Sultan used stays under her dresses in the harem. Women in the harem were from different parts of the world and were used to different wardrobe traditions. Underbust looked like soft corset parts from the show were supposed to bring impression of European custom based inspiration and the desire of high-ranked concubines to still maintain some of their cultural heritage. For example, Nurbanu Sultan changed the hammam habit in the palace because she used her influence to bring into the palace a metal bathtub. Her bathing habit was so strong, that small pools were added in royal hammam. So it's not so hard imagine, that even lower-ranked concubines had some power over their wardrobe.
@@historianhilly Agreed but in fairness Magnificent Century like any costume drama is for entertainment purposes. At most there wasn't The I Dream of Jeannie type costumes except for Firuze's dance so there was that. It was a missed opportunity for some Ottoman authenticity.
Yes, make a series, please. There's so little out there about anything that isn't European fashion history. I wanne know all the things 😅
Hehe welcome to the club 😀
Yes, please make more
Oh, finally someone is covering this!
I got hooked on this series during lockdown and I always wanted to know more about the (gorgeous) costumes. I suspect they took great liberties - at least with the women's dresses. But I'm looking forward to hearing someone else's opinion!
@@raraavis7782 women and people in general in the ottoman Empire did have some liberties, there was some religious tolerance (under taxes ofc) however ottoman MUSLIM woman were allowed to do things like going outside, shopping, working etc...
I’d love to see more! I’ve known this shows costumes were wholly inaccurate, the tiaras, the busts, the silhouette, the way they dressed when going out / interactions with the men, hair even, the list goes on!
There's so much to talk about! I'm excited to dive into more details of Ottoman clothing in future videos.
I would love to see more!! I love that you are bringing this knowledge of the Ottoman Empire to the table of historical dress!🥰
I'm so glad you enjoyed!
I am so down for a series on this! Feeding the algorithm after subscribing to your channel. The amount of hours I spent during the pandemic and since watching and rewatching The Magnificent Century, only to be left out to dry when there was nothing else I could deep dive into (unlike with any other historical series pertaining to European history) is really quite something.
Glad you're here to fill in the gaps!
Glad to be of service! :)
It's so nice to see content that doesn't focus on Western European historical shows/fashion! I'm very interested in learning more about Ottoman women's fashion, do you have any websites, books, or any other resources that you would recommend?
Sadly, there aren't any comprehensive English-language books on Ottoman fashion throughout the centuries. I would recommend the work of historians Nurhan Atasoy and Hulya Tezcan. They have some work in English, like Nurhan Atasoy's book 'Ipek:Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets'. There are many academic articles online, however, these generally need subscriptions through a university account or can be accessed through payment. There are some valuable online resources like the Ottoman Turkish Garment Database, MET museum and Reconstructinghistory.com that provide photos of garments and patterns. I believe the last website also sells a book about Ottoman fashion. Hope this helped!
@@historianhilly Yes this helps a lot, thank you so much! Are there any good books in Turkish? I’m not fluent, but I understand enough.
Muhteşem Yüzyıl actually has a documentary called "Gizli Dünya" (Secret World) which also reveals how the costumes, and accessories are made. In the first episode, the costume designer mentions "The approach we followed while preparing this series was to start from the Ottoman era and aim to present a much more dynamic, contemporary, and captivating visual experience that would engage today's audience. I researched visuals of 16th-century costumes. Naturally, most of the available examples are miniatures. We also looked at the robes displayed at Topkapı Palace from the period following this era. After blending all these elements together, we discussed what we could create on top of that."
So I assume they prioritized leveling up the visuals over the historical accuracy.
Exactly. The show itself wasn't historically accurate. It was international appeal.
And they took this concept straight from The Tudors, that had a similar outlook in how they presented, especially the female costumes. The great balance is keeping the costumes looking "period costume" enough, without making them look like modern dresses (like Reign did).
Yes, this would be a fun series. You could talk about Magnificent Century Kosem too.
Knowing from Kösem's history and life. There was nothing great about her rule or century. They should have chosen a better title.
@@exosproudmamabear558 But she had more power and influence than Nurbanu and Safiye. Her reign as Valide Sultan was the height of The Sultanate of Women.
@@einezcrespo2107 So what it doesnt change she wasnt a great ruler per se. And there was nothing magnificent about her rule. Look I am a girl but I dont wanna sugarcoat a bad ruler because she is a woman. Granted she wasnt that bad half of the later came sultans who were degenerates at best so she was relatively good but her century was full of inner strifes and weakening of the empire. But I am also biased I dont like Ottoman empire much,I would take Seljuklu any day over Ottoman rule.
Fascinating look at 16th c Ottoman costume--I would love to see this as a series! By the way, your outfit in this video is super cute.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, I'm working on more Ottoman clothing videos for sure! And thank you for the compliment :)
There is such a void of content about Magnificent Century! Thank you for helping fill this gap :)
You're very welcome! 😊
Please do more 😁 I found this very interesting. I remember the first time I watched anything of MC and I thought to myself while the women's dresses were beautiful and eye catching, they seemed not quite right, I suspected it wasn't accurate to history either. I'd love a longer series and would happily listen to you rant all day about it 😂
Haha stay tuned!
My parents loved to watch this in turkish, would love to see a fuller video going into detail and how you would have designed
Thank you for this video! You already covered the main aspects but I would love to watch a series about this subject in more detail! It does not have to be about the Magnificent Century, I love to learn more about the 16th century. Ottoman Clothing.
That’s a great idea! I’m working on some more videos about Ottoman clothing, so stay tuned.
Thanks for this video! What bugged me from the women costume wasn’t really the silhouette or the patterns, but the quality of the fabrics. You can tell those are cheap fabrics from a mile away. It just cuts off the illusion that they’re the imperial family.
I get that the budget maybe wasn’t so big, so either don’t do it, or reduce the episode count, or make the character wear their clothing at least twice. Upper classes wore their clothing more than once as even they know how hard it was to get silk and other expensive fabrics
I mean, by season three, they should have been able to up the quality of the fabrics, no? I remember Halit and Meryem reprising their roles as Suleiman and Hurrem for a stinking orange commercial (lol).
I agree, the show was so popular that they could have allowed for more accurate - or at least more natural-looking- fabrics. And yes, they definitely wore their clothes more than once!
I would love for this to become a series. I've been a big fan of this show for a few years but always laughed at the costuming
I am OBSESSED with Ottoman history AND with the show Magnificent Century. SO GLAD your channel came through my feed.
I'm so glad you found my channel!
Some times the show is away from history
Yes please, could you do a lot longer episode comparing how the individual characters were dressed in the show to how they would have been dressed in real life. I also love the idea of you doing the mens clothes and the accessories could you do the furnishings as well because I am curious as to if the beds were accurate. I make dollshouse miniatures and I desperately want to make an harem room box (a single room)
That's a great idea!
LOVED THIS VIDEO....PLEASE DO MORE.
Thank you so much for this video! There's lot of info available about the European fashion available from the mediaeval and modern periods but I have rarely seen other regions being covered. It's fascinating to hear what the historical documents say about how people dressed back then. Will be looking forward to your future videos! ❤❤
That's very true my Friend
I am from algerai and I would love to see peopel react on our traditional drees cus I think it's gorgeous and culture is so important and I would be happy for that ❤
I agree, more needs to be done to cover non-European fashion history!
Thanks so much for posting this. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who is so upset about how inaccurate their costumes were.
This is superb. I've waited for this type of video for years now and I appreciate your expertise.
I would love to see a series about Ottoman Empire TV shows!!! I'm enjoying kudus fattihi Salahuddin Ayyubi.... Please do that one as well! Also, I just watched your video where you made the Ottoman Turkish clothing and i want to buy that top now! You did a lovely job 😊
There are so many shows to choose from 😅
I'm so happy you've made another video 😊. I look forward to your videos because I've been trying to learn more about Ottoman clothing
Turks made a movie about Kosem Sultan's life with historical dresses but it was not watched very much. (The name of the movie is Kosem Sultan 2010) The reason why most of the historical dresses made by Turks look like fantasy dresses is that Turks make the costumes or produce the fabrics of many historical and fantasy movies in Europe. Some of the movies that Turks worked on the costume side are Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean, 300 Spartans, Game of Thrones and The Hobbit. For this reason, Turkish costume designers do not take any risks in historical productions (since the Turkish film industry does not have a big budget) and they make ready-made costumes or shape that costume. Also, before this series was shot, the costume designers said that they would be very little in line with history. Still, it was closer to history than historical series shot in Europe. In some historical series in Europe, they cast a man who lived in the 18th century in the 16th century, and Europeans watch this as a historical series. That's why Magnificent Century is currently a masterpiece in historical series.
Also, we don't know much about what the women in the harem wore. In other words, we don't know what was wrong and right. Safiye Sultan also had dresses brought from England and Germany. We don't know what these dresses looked like. In other words, the Ottoman harem was very complicated.
Did you watch my video? I don't think you listened to what I was saying. Yes, Muhtesem Yuzyil costumes were successful from an artistic/ cinematic point of view. However, my analysis is from a historical perspective. We definitely know what they wore in the harem in terms of silhouette and fabrics of that era.We also have clothes that are in Topkapi Museum. These show us the fabric types and shapes of the dresses. Call a spade a spade. The production team on Muhtesem Yüzyıl purposefully made the choice to depict it in a fantastical way and as a historian, I would like to inform viewers about correct styles.
I only watched a few episodes of this series until the main actress was aged up. At the time I really loved the fantasy look of the costumes (I agree, very Reign!). I'd love to hear what you have to say more in depth about the rest of the costumes including the men - it's super fascinating to learn what is fantasy and what is historically inspired.
I also think some of the costumes were really pretty, but the historian in me couldn’t get over their inaccuracy 😅 I’ll be uploading a video about the men’s costumes very soon !
i think men's costumes were more historically accurate than the women's
Absolutely loved the costumes though 😅 I'm glad they gave us those dresses and colours
Some of them were pretty but tough for a historian to overlook :D
❤👏such a great video can’t wait for next one
Glad you enjoyed it!
The costumes are beautiful for what they're, you Westerners think every history movie/series must be a documentary😂
Exactly 💯
My feeling was that the women's costumes were pseudo western European. I would prefer to see costuming that more closely replicates the Ottoman culture and clothing of the time. It doesn't need to be perfect, but a reasonable approximation would be better.
@patty4349 Europeans used to took inspiration from ottoman. This woman is claiming to be historian but she isn't providing any source , also she may studied in a specific education dressing example fo the commoners.
oh please, please continue with this topic - ottoman and byzantine clothing, accessories, interior design - so interesting and rare information!!
It was a tv series not a documentary so 🤷🏻♀️
OMG please turn this into a series!! I would watch this all day
Waiting for the continuation
Next series ideas:
Dirilis Ertugrul
Payitaht Abdulhamid (this might go forever its nerve wrecking even for me and I'm not a historian)
Very cool. (And I am just dying to know more about all that gigantic headware)
Yess would love more videos
I think the only thing worse than the costumes is the HAIR. I wasn't aware the Ottomans invented hair curlers in the 16th century! Not to mention save for a few veils and tiaras, not a hat or cap in site! (Also the makeup is... VERY obvious but I've come to expect lipstick and eyeliner from period pieces).
Tell me about it! And the fancy bridal updo.... ugh!
While I'm with you on the costumes and taking the time to make something most time accurate but the fabric choices. You have to think of the budget, it is clear they wanted as many dresses as possible. That can add up really quickly. I made a Tudor style gown with "cheap" fabrics, and it still costs $120 for just materials. So while the colors were over the top, the fabric selected makes sense for what they were doing and how many pieces they need.
I think it would've cost less for them to make accurate 16th century clothing. Ottoman fashion at the time, as I've shown in the video, was much more simplistic. It would've required less fabric and certainly less ornaments, like the laces and jewels that they added on. Also, Tudor fashion was much more ornate and had more elements (like stays, fitted bodices, kirtles) than an Ottoman kaftan.
Could you please speak of the Inverness wool coats depicted in the show and compare them to the winter wear from the Ottoman era?
In the words of Emperor Palpatine: Do it.
I will say that there was this "kaftan" that Nur Fettahoğlu wore that looked to be velvet but it could be polyester for all I know, it was patterned and looked stunning on her. But Nur looks phenomenal in brassy or earthy tones anyway.
I loved the touch of them wearing the tall hats with the veil however iirc they arent ottoman period accessories they're what European ls depicted as ottoman headdresses and turbans in an attempt to feminise them more for the women
Yes, a lot of this is based on European depictions, unfortunately.
@historianhilly I've heard people say they're supposed to be a hotoz hat but I think from what I've read they were small flat caps almost like today's pillbox hats but I'm not sure about this
@Jack-yz4ws The hotoz changed over time. In the 16th century, it was long and flat on the top. By the 19th, it was almost identical to a fes.
"my life goal, I'm a historian, I'm invested in it." As an art historian, I hear you! Yes, more please. Also, Ottoman empire. I do not know enough about that at all.
I would love more videos!
Stay tuned!
I watched it and even not knowing much of Ottman dresses at this time I thought the costumes look a bit weird..like you said a mixture of all and nothing from western dresses from 1100 to 1780...
Yes, I also felt like it was such a mix of different elements that it turned into a mess.
Oh my, yes, post more please!
Hello, Dr. Deniz Esemenli is the History Advisor. It’s listed in the intro.
Good to know!
I would love it if you made a series about this and other shows!! Personally, I haven't watched the show, but I have seen enough pictures and gif to know they weren't being accurate.
Learning about how they weren't accurate and why Ottoman tailors constructed garments the way they did was so interesting. I didn't know motives were only for the upper classes.
I'm waiting for the day we get more accurate clothing so badly.
Is there any show that has been accurate? The ones taking place in the Ottoman empire always feel off in some way.
Maybe seksenler is close from what my parents told me 🤔
There aren’t really any shows that have been totally accurate. Diriliş Ertuğrul had some great costumes but also some terrible ones. Seksenler is definitely more accurate , probably because it’s easier to depict the 80s than the Medieval era.
OMG ! Finaly somone speaks
About that, i have talked with my mom about that severl times telling her this is not true at all and the dress will be more conservative and more modest for sur
Any way You have done great job and pls can you make a vidéo about algerain traditionnelle dress
I would love to see this cus they never speak about Northen African fashion in the internet
Peace sis 🫂 ❤️🩹🇩🇿
If I make a video about costumes around the Ottoman Empire, including Algeria at one point in the 16th century, I'll make sure to include Algerian dress :)
@historianhilly OMG, thanks 😘
Hi, I’m a new subscriber, I have loved the magnificent century for years ever since I found it on RUclips and I feel like more people should talk about it.
Could you make a video on the men’s costumes and on the sequel series, the magnificent century Kosem
Welcome! I definitely will be discussing the men's costumes and yes, will probably make one about 'Kösem' because that's set in the early 17th century.
Love the video!!
Thank you!!
This is like Reign & Bridgerton all over again.
@azabujuban-hito-dake except this magnificent century show actually served HOT GOWNS and beautiful fantasized fashion that more or less correspond with the later ottoman era of fashion like the kaftan, the garments, etc...
The other shows are just not it, they don't even look good (costumes) they be giving dollar store cosplay costume... Very plastic-y
@@GalacticR.E.M Err..NO.
@@GalacticR.E.M the creator isn't even accurate. She is talking about one type of dressing. If you are making historical adaptation it's important to give modern so audience can relate.
I already followed, now i would love you to pls fix every dress on procreate or smthing. Like choose one and say that the siluet should be like this and draw on it. Then you add the patterns by drawing on it.. Just it would be soo nice to see the difference.
Thaaanks
I love the idea, maybe I'll try that one day!
Can you make dress that will be accurate?
I have a video of a more historically accurate 16th-century kaftan and plan to make more! Stay tuned :)
6:04 I hate this dress so much 😅
I know the costumes were inaccurate, but this one really got to me.
Literally!!
The series took artistic license with much more than wardrobe. Although the political conquests and chronology is accurate, there are several fictional characters in the series, interpersonal relationships that conflict with well documented historical account, children entirely left out of the story and real life familial ties that weren't mentioned.
That said, the Magnificent Century is by far the most impressive series ever.
I had wondered about the cleavage and such but then I was wondering if maybe it’s relaxed because these are all women living in the harem, they’re not going out into town dressed like that and when they do travel somewhere, they do wear more modest clothing. I do like the costumes, even though they’re wrong, but I didn’t realize they were Reign territory wrong xD
Even men wore things modestly back then. Even their pajamas isnt that open let alone a daily clothing.
Absolutely wrong. Most painting of that era shows they were not modest. Christians brought modesty. Muslims werent at the time.
What about the Osman series? And yes a broader vlog series on Ottoman clothing under Suleyman
Yes, the Osman series is definitely one I would like to review because I was impressed with * some * of the costumes. And a more general video into Suleyman-era dress is something I can look into :)
@historianhilly thanks.
Ah yes my favourite mess of a historical fantasy soap opera. It is very telling though that even someone like me who knows next to nothing about Ottoman fashion history could tell that some of the costumes were far more 21st century than 16th century.
Magnificent century : kosem
Had wasaaayyyy better costumes/jewelery/tiaras
Yeah. The show never tried to be historically accurate
I wish you also talk about their crowns, like they are metallic monstrosities
@@Sustain_life they're beautiful made you mean.
"Monstrosities" where? I've never seen prettier crowns with much detail. I'm not talking about how accurate they're but their designs and the creativity behind each piece is just amazing.
Western shows only give us French and English hoods and the "crowns" are usually a blob-like piece of metal with no design
@@GalacticR.E.M I get what you mean but from a historical viewpoint nothing about it alludes to its contextual era. Aesthetically speaking they are beautiful. I hope that answers your question.
I'd be curious about the men's costumes, since they look so different than the women's. Did they get anything right?
The men's costumes were overall more accurate than the women's. I'll be making a video on that soon :)
They are in harem most of the time. In paintings you can see that kind of sleeves and how they were not dressing conservative in harem
None of the artists had access to the harem.
I was fine with the necklines and all the other things even though i knew it wasnt accurate at all, but there was a dress mahidevran wore when süleyman announced he and hürrem got married and it had transparent sleeves. That was too much for me, yes it is a TV series but that dress was not a good choice, i think mihriban wore the same one but in blue, it wasnt as bad as mahidevran's maybe because of the colour
Some of them are really terrible 😢
yess series
The first line of drama says the IT IS INSPIRED BY HISTORY AND IT IS A FICTIONAL DRAMA
It was a drama to attract the audience internationally
It was a fictional drama
Yes, I'm aware!
Its a drama, its not a documentary. I really wish the show was more historical but it didnt have to be.
Please make more. I've been trying to find good accurate costuming from Turkey and Central Asia for awhile. Do you have any shows that did this well?
For central asia, usually soviet films have a rather accurate costuming, like in Nasreddin of Bukhara
Sadly, I can't recommend a show where the costuming is even slightly accurate. Maybe 'Dirilis Ertugrul', they did a great job with many of their textiles. However, since there are no surviving garments or detailed paintings from the 13th century, we can only call it design choice :(
@@lunarbinantari6189Is that depicting Nasrettin hodja? I need to watch that. Soviets did really interesting movies back in the day.
Can you also roast (I mean analyse 😅) the show Sultan Abdulhamid, I found the hijabs to be very awkward
Omg don’t get me started on their hijabs or that show 😅
do for kurlus osman series
I love the series but the costumes on women drove me crazy. I kept thinking that is not an accurate style. I have made historical costumes so love watching shows to see fashions. Thanks for posting this. Hopefully next time the tv producers will hire you or someone like you.
I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Could you please review the costumes of 'Mehmed: Fetihler Sultani'?
This is definitely on my list! Especially since it is geared towards more conservative audiences so the costume design reflects that.
Could you do a video on the series "Diriliş Ertuğrul" which depicts the early years of the Ottoman or " Kurtuluş Osman" I have heard that they have better costumes in the sense of accuracy.
It's on my list for sure! Some of the costuming has more accurate elements but they also use alot of "design choice" :D
Thank you thank you thank you. I love the magnificent century series but the costumes were not historically accurate at all. ottoman clothing is so beautiful and diverse throughout its history and many regions, it varied from religious groups as well. And so often it is rarely talked about by western historians. Please make more videos about this :)
Yes it really was so diverse and beautiful! I’ll definitely be adressing the differences in dress amongst minorities in the Ottoman Empire :)
@ thank you so much. I’ve been waiting for a channel like yours for years! 🩵 keep up the great work!
yes, they did not show cleavage or even hair
I wish the video was longer
I’ll consider that for the next vid ☺️
its not a documentary🙄
So what it still looks hideous and out of place. Setting is an important element for a story. And I bet even as a Turkish you dont know know how an acurate clothing looked like because I have little to no idea despite seeing them in topkapı and reading depictions.
I thought it was about Sultan sulieman X?
I actually disagree that the dresses are Reign level bad, mostly because in that show, they literally took dresses off the rack. While Mag Century definitely uses modern fabrics, almost all of the silhouettes are the same. They all have similar necklines, the small waist, long skirt, long medieval sleeves. In that way, it's more like the aforementioned Bridgerton. The costume designers for this show seemed pretty intent that the women in this show look as pretty and sexy as possible (much like early Western period shows). Meryem Uzerli talks some about how the designers would design her dresses to be extremely tight and form-fitting to control her weight and appearance, and it's obvious that they prioritized a fantastical aesthetic.
I think Bridgerton still had most of the Regency period silhouettes (empire waist dresses) correct whereas the kaftans in the Magnificent Century are the same style as 18th-century Ottoman fashion. But yes, they definitely prioritised sexiness over historicity.
I understand the there were 2 very respected historian doctors helping whit that tha language, the meals, the garmenets.
Wow, I wonder how they got it so wrong then.
@historianhilly because it is ficción it is based in history but fictionate, it says in every chapter, and the hostoricians are mentioned in the credits as well, and maybe they get carried away, like in the Bridgertons
@@historianhilly you are being disrespectful
A lot of women's costumes look like wedding dress or renissance fair
Exactly! Renaissance fair vibes all around!
Subscribe!! I agree I wasn’t a fan of inaccurate clothing of the show.
Thank you so much for this! The costumes of this show were just atrocious (and so were many of the more soapy plotlines, tbh). I don't understand people trying to defend this monstrosity with excuses like "adjusting the costumes to modern tastes". I'm a person living in the 21st century (obvs) and these costumes look simply atrocious to me, so they obviously didn't adjust anything to my taste. Like, they don't even look good by 21st century evening wear standards, most of it looks just cheap and gaudy. And I don't understand this expectation some people seem to have that accurate 16th century clothing can't be gorgeous--that betrays such a limited and uninformed understanding of material history.
That was one of my main complaints. 16th-century Ottoman fashion is unique, interesting and beautiful in its own way. It shouldn't have to fit 21st-century standards.
Yes please. Make something that shows reality. Especially for the Ottoman history. They were very good at copying things but these costumes are too much.
Interesting video. Doesn't surprise me at all, but it is a mighty shame. Because of these inaccuracy's, it's too easy for others to build up misconceptions about history and different cultures or fall into the trap of orientalism. Whilst I love the show, I prefer Historical Accuracy over visual engaging.
Very true! And there were many orientalist costumes (like the bellydance ones that didn't even exist at the time) and dances.
@historianhilly thanks Hilly, I would love to see some accurate reactions of ottoman clothing throughout the centuries (and many other cultures) in a future video, unless you've done one already and I've missed it.
The creators of the Magnificent Century were very well aware about their costumes - cuts were wrong, some fabrics were wrong, silhouettes totally wrong. And the head of costume department in one of the interviews said that while it is true that historically their costumes were incorrect, especially female costumes. The “box cut” kaftans and overall dress for women of that era did not make women of the harem look beautiful. Women in the harem were devout Muslims, setting the standards, and showing much skin at all was grossly inappropriate for the time. Women were covered head to toe. Rich opulent fabrics, but covered nonetheless. Standards of beauty were based on completely different values, and trying to accentuate those (hair - much care for the hair and skin in harem) was nearly
Impossible to get across in this medium. One cannot get across in a film the softness of the skin, the scent of a woman, the thickness and shine of her hair. That’s why they opted for the visual accents, such as those costumes.
Besides, if we truly look at the Magnificent Century from a historic perspective - events and people taking part in them during Suleyman’s reign were also very inaccurate. They added nonexistent relationships, storylines to add drama to the show, to accommodate actors’ schedules and departures from cast as well.
So, yes, they did have historians in the set, to keep the story together for the “feel” of the period. But accuracy was not a goal of the TV series.
They could have easily stuck to the main silhouette of 16th-century kaftans and added their own creative tweaks. The fact that they did this for the men's costumes (which are much more accurate) means that they didn't think the women's costumes were sexy or appealing enough to modern audiences, which is sexist and objectifying to women.
interestingly, the by far largest turkish community outside Turkey is Germany - where not one broadcasting company bought the series; the ignorance of Germans towards turkish culture is deeply lamentable and embarassing
The Kosem version is way worse
They made the costumes strictly to appeal to an international audience. The Tudors did the same thing. The show was historical, dramatized history, anyway.
Believe me it's not just costumes. Hurrem speaking russian is stupid and cringe af
How so? I'm curious and genuinely want to know.
It is not bad in my opinion she is born in Poland which is in Ukranian terriatory today. Their accents doesnt really differ when talking Turkish.
I love this show but the cleavage always bothered me 😂 there’s no way they would have had their chests out like that
People wouldn't watch it if costumes were accurate, kinda burka ones. Also past dresses were not as colorful as in MY plus we know very little about harem.
That is kind of true but there are a few kaftans we still have in topkapı and they are pretty colorful have intricate motifs. I am sure not all of them are like that but they dont need to go for absulute accuracy they just need to set the tone. Burka never used in Turkey we still do not use it they were using it somethşng similar to Burqa in Byzantium Empire tho. Black chaddor used by certain people although harem didnt use it. Chador came in 19th century anyway it would be impossible to see in this era
They definitely did not wear burkas. Many different colours were used for royal clothing in the Ottoman court, especially brighter ones. The Ottomans didn't like dark colours like black and navy. They preferred patterned and coloured fabrics. Sticking to more natural-looking dyes rather than synthetic/ metallic colours would have done the job.
And who asked?
I did