Osmanlı giyim kuşamının temelleri ikibin yıldan eskiye, Orta Asya’da yaşamış olan atalarının giyim kültürüne uzanmaktadır. Yaklaşık altı yüzyıl, Osmanlı kıyafetleri, kesim özellikleri açısından benzer şekilde devam etmiş, 19. yüzyıldan itibaren köklü değişikliğe uğramıştır. 19. yüzyıl başında erkek kıyafetleri, yüzyılın ortasından sonra kadın kıyafetleri Avrupa modası etkisiyle tamamen değişmiştir. Osmanlı giyiminde yüzyıllarca şalvar, iç gömleği, entari, kaftan ve hırkalar kullanılmıştır. Osmanlı kıyafetinin belirleyici unsurları kaftanlar ve entarilerdir. Kaftan ve entariler yüzyıllarca birlikte giyilmişlerdir. Entariler içte kalmakta, kaftanlar entarilerin üstüne giyilmektedir. Entariler herkes tarafından giyilirken kaftanlar özellikle, kamusal alana yönelik bir nevi üniforma görevi gören giysilerdir. Bu iki giysi kesim özellikleri açısından çok benzer ve bazen birbirlerine karıştırılırlar. Türkçede, kaftan sözcüğü çok eskiden beri kullanılırken, entari sözcüğünün 16. yüzyıldan itibaren kullanıldığı bilinmektedir. Entari kullanılış amaçları ile var olan ve her durumda giyilen giysidir. Kaftan olarak adlandırılan giysi öncelikle saray giysilerini düşündürmektedir çünkü Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi’nde büyük bir padişah kaftanları koleksiyonu yer almakta ve bunların dışında günümüze gelen pek fazla kaftan bulunmamaktadır. Kaftanlar itibarı temsil eden giysiler olmuş, değerli kumaşları ve aksesuarları ile itibar sağladıkları gibi kumaş desenleri ile sembolizm yaratmışlardır. Padişah giysilerinde, sultanın temsil ettiği güçler, kaftanlarda kumaş desenleri sembolize edilmektedir. 19. yüzyıl başlarında erkek kıyafetlerinin değişmesiyle kaftan kullanımı ortadan kalkar. Hem kadın hem erkek giysisi olan entari yalnızca kadınlara özgü olur. 18. yüzyıldan itibaren hafifleyen geleneksel giysiler, 19. yüzyıl sonunda ortadan kalkar. Anahtar Kelimeler: Kaftan, hil’at, entari, kesim, sembolizm.Ottoman dressing culture has a history of more than two thousand years. This culture was the inheritance of The Turks’ ancestors from Central Asia. For many centuries in the Ottoman period, the articles of dress were similar of men and women and bore the same name. The main items were the şalvar (ankle-length trousers), gömlek (under tunic), hırka (cardigan), entari (gown), which could sometimes be called a kaftan (caftan). Cardigans and gowns opened down the front and were generally collarless. Narrow godets (peş) were added to the sides of these robes to give extra volume to the skirts, and they had inset pockets in the seams. This style of dress, the cut of which was known as “peşli” continued through to the mid 19th century, with minor modifications of the collar of cuffs. Gowns and caftans were usually made of costly fabrics. In this study, Ottoman kaftan and entari examined and compared according to their usage with their symbolism. The 18th century’s changes on costumes mentioned then after leaving to use kaftan in the early 19th century surviving entari and its different styles explained. The most interesting items of Ottoman costumes were kaftan and entari. They were very similar in their cutting style. These two articles of dressing worn together for hundreds of years. The caftan worn over the inner robes (entari) was usually made of heavy printed silk fabric and had short sleeves, which meant that the puffed sleeves of the inner robes could be seen underneath. In winter this was worn with an outer caftan lined inside with a sable skin, beach martin’s fur, squirrel fur or ermine fur. Entari could be worn alone but kaftan needed another inner robe. Kaftan, the outer robe was showing the level of the person who wore it in the public. The sultan and government gave the kaftan as pleasing gift or to make higher the statute of the one who took it. So, kaftan carried a high symbolism on it. Caftans of various styles were the important items of dress for both men and women. Caftans are fairly simple in construction and tailoring, using mostly straight seams; it was the quality of the fabric that was intended to impress. When we look at the caftans, firstly the imperial kaftans and the kaftans of inhabitants of the palace attract us. They pulled our interest on. Ottoman sultans used to attach great importance to their attire. They used to wear kaftans made of expensive and luxurious cloths. They generally have round necks, sometimes with a small stand-up collar. Women’s caftans likewise had round necks: styles that had low round or square necklines or even came under the bust date to the late 18th century. 16th century caftans did not expose the bosom. They usually have buttons to the waist, either jewelled or covered in the same fabric as the caftan. The sultan and his court would frequently wear gowns one with wrist length sleeves under another with short sleeves, under another with decorative ankle length sleeves, so their contrasting fabrics could all be seen and admired. In the 18th century, silk fabrics began to change. They become lighter both in design and the portion of silk. Also the style of the gowns was changed. Costumes were effected by European fashion and became lighter. The new style was very suitable with new style of social life. The dress of the 18th century is vividly described by Lady Montague..... The miniaturs of Levni and Abdullah Buhari also depict the dress of the time in close detail. Towards the mid eighteenth century, the length of the skirt rose to above the ankles and the neckline became deep enough to reveal the brests, while the right front panels of open fronted dresses were cut diagonally at the waist level to have an overlap over the left panel. Towards the end of the 18th century the neckline became so low that it exposed the breasts entirely. In the early 19th century new styles emerged in women’s fashions. The dresses, known as üç etek and dört etek (three and four panelled skirts, where the skirt was divided by waisthigh slits into three and four panels respectively) were highly favoured in capital and worn until 1875. Women in conservative circles continued to wear them up to the end of the century. In the provinces and particularly in rural areas the fashion continued even into the 20th century. Keywords: Kaftan (outer robe), hil’at, entari (inner robe), cutting style,symbolism. 
