I found it very interesting that in this vibrant city there was a wide range of styles of dress for women and a much narrower one for men. That first morning as Sally and I sat drinking turkish coffee watching people getting off the trains and trams, what was striking was the lack of bright tee shirts and baggy pants on men. Regardless of age, most wore dark pants with a polo or button down style shirt, perhaps a suit, as they headed off to work in the morning bustle. This held true in the markets, museums, and out in the countryside of Cappodocia. If you were to do a Boston and Istanbul comparison, the guys in Istanbul would make Bostonians look flashy.
Turkish women on the other hand have a wide spectrum of clothing styles from tight shorts and tank tops to full burkas. What is striking however is the quiet style - Gucci purses to go with elaborate black beaded Burkas, beautiful head scarves coordinated with pants, shoes, belts and sweaters. The evening of our farewell dinner we went to a swanky island restaurant floating on the Bosporus. A wedding party was in progress and the female guests wore dresses and shoes that were stunning, sexy, and stylish- yet not over the top. It reminded me of how women dressed when I was a child and my mother had a closet full of beautiful clothes for every event. It is lifestyle that skipped me completely, my daughter embraces and is alive and well in Istanbul.
