Fashion and politics in the early republican period

This study examines the relationship between fashion and politics in the Early Republican period of Turkey, emphasizing how clothing reforms functioned as key instruments of the state's modernization project. Rather than a purely aesthetic change, dress regulations reshaped national identity, disciplined the body, and redefined public visibility. Building on late Ottoman practices, the research highlights the continuity between nineteenth-century clothing regulations and the more radical and centralized reforms of the Republican era. The 1925 Hat Law, the 1934 Dress Law, and the establishment of Sümerbank as a state-led industrial initiative were central mechanisms that promoted Western-style clothing and disseminated modern values. Through these reforms, the state aimed to construct a secular and Western-oriented national identity while strengthening its authority in the public sphere. Adopting a historical-sociological approach, the study analyzes official documents, periodicals, caricature journals, literary works, archival materials, and international press accounts. These sources reveal diverse social responses: enthusiasm among urban elites, economic concerns in rural regions, religious objections from conservative groups, and various negotiation strategies developed by ordinary citizens. The findings also show how clothing reforms influenced women's public visibility, children's socialization, and the everyday practices of minority communities, illustrating the gendered and multilayered character of Turkish modernization. The research is informed by theoretical perspectives from Foucault's concept of disciplinary power, Gramsci's notion of hegemony, and Bourdieu's analysis of cultural capital. These frameworks help explain how clothing reforms functioned simultaneously as tools of social regulation and markers of cultural transformation. Overall, the study positions fashion as an analytical lens for understanding the ideological, legal, and social dimensions of modernization in Early Republican Turkey.