The Ottoman Costume Album Registered in number Od.23 in Bibliothèque Nationale de France

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Ottoman society began to feel the political, military, economic and cultural influences of Europe more and more, and these influences led to significant changes in the art of painting. During the Westernization period, the Ottoman art of painting was characterized by an increase in the production of western-style works such as portraits, landscapes and still lifes as Europeanstyle paintings became popular. Also during this period, Ottoman rulers and nobles were portrayed by European painters. As a result of the West's curiosity about the Ottoman Empire, many artists, ambassadors, travelers and missionaries came to the country and began to paint the landscape of Istanbul and the clothes of people from the palace and social life. Thus, the tradition of scrapbooking in Ottoman society emerged as an important innovation to document the culture of clothing and dress. As a result of these travels, local artists were also influenced by the figures drawn by the West on a single sheet of paper and the albums they created, thus creating a new tradition. In the Ottoman Empire, clothing and attire was an important element reflecting social status and cultural identity. Therefore, clothing albums are very important as they document the clothing culture of a certain period by showing the fashion, cut, fabric, patterns and accessories of the clothes. These albums were usually created by hand. The albums show the clothing styles of people from different social classes of Ottoman society, from palace clothes.