‘Owing to this belief, a girl with a small trousseau was said by her in-laws to have come ‘without bloomers’. No woman wants to hear such words. Consequently, a pair of bloomers goes into the hope chest as soon as a baby girl is born. Ankle-length, these undergarments are decorated with embroidery as are the two ends of the drawstring that dangle over the belly when the bloomers are worn. Like the Anatolian mother goddess, Cybele, the embroidered patterns symbolize the desire for fertility, plenty, love, power and health. As you will see in some of the pictures, the colors, plants, flowers, branches, leaves and representations of the tree of life, as well as various fruits, bees, birds, snakes, flowing streams and prayers in Ottoman script give expression to many aspects of life.

SKILL OF THE HAND, LIGHT OF THE EYE
As the outcome of such diverse beliefs, traditional trousseaus were produced in the home through the creative power of women’s handicrafts.