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Who could have foreseen the effects of a revolution which took possession, so to speak, of the domestic sanctuaries, of that which is the most private and sacred in the nation, of that which most touches the heart and the life of society? While waiting for the ladies of Stamboul to start following the fashions of France or England, we have seen, just recently, young princesses, daughters of the sultan going for walks in the street with clothing and finery that appeared to be novelties from the West; I ought to tell you that this attempt has not succeeded, and we have seen there but a grotesque travesty. It will probably remain thus.1
-Joseph Fr. Michaud and Jean-Joseph-François Poujoulat
FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES have taken place in political practice, economic systems, and social structures, which all together facilitate the process of globalization. The movement of people, technology, capital, information, ideas, and commodities has become much easier and faster than it was in the past. Thereby, borders, if not completely brought down, have become far more porous and permeable than in the past. All these globalizing trends have broken down "hardcore" barriers for information, money, and labor, and given rise to a new narrative of interregional and cross-cultural interactions, deterritorialized spaces, transboundary networks, and transnational communities. This narrative has had a profound impact on historical studies, encouraging historians to trace the origins of globalization and cross-cultural and cross-border interactions in the past. This research is an attempt to explore the interchanges between "Eastern" and "Western" worlds in the past and to contribute to the continuing theoretical and historical debate about the process of globalization.
In an attempt to provide an insight into cross-cultural exchanges between the Ottoman and British societies, it emphasizes the stimulus of the Ottoman port cities on the eastern Mediterranean and the people living in these places to the interchange of costumes between Ottoman and British women. It attaches crucial importance to Ottoman women, primarily those living in port cities, since significant changes in fashion, as in philosophy, literature, arts, and architecture, initially affected the lives of port city dwellers rather than rural populations. On the other hand, it also examines British elite women who pioneered the introduction of new Eastern fashion trends in Britain.