A few Snippets about the Kaftan Dress - compiled without Prejudice !

• The Kaftan :  An Islamic garment for men which is essentially an ankle length cotton or silken cloak. The Kaftan is buttoned at the front,
  has long sleeves and is usually worn with a sash. They may or may not be embellished with embroidery on the front or on the sleeves.
  However, in Morocco, Kaftans are also worn by women.
  [http://freakyarabicwomen.biz]

• The Kaftan: A garment which aims to take away the emphasis from the waist line. The Kaftan in itself can be a beautiful item. Sometimes they are full length to almost the ankle. The Kaftan dress may have been brought back into vogue because of the influence of anything-seventies but perhaps the Kaftan, at least, can be developed and re-styled. Its emphasis away from the waist line should be noted. There is the maxi-dress which was in style in 2007 and this also took emphasis away from the waist line. Both were part of the seventies influence.
  [http://www.apparelsearch.com]

• The Kaftan : Sometimes spelled Caftan from the Persian (خفتان) is a man's cotton or silk cloak buttoned down the front, with full sleeves, reaching to the ankles and worn with a sash. They were often embroidered on the front and on the sleeves, but like everything else under the Ottomans, there was a strict hierarchical order in the colours, patterns, ribbons and buttons, etc. which were chosen according to the rank of the person to whom the Kaftan was presented.
  [http://www.wikipedia.org]

• The Kaftan : Has long, wide sleeves and is open in the front, although frequently it is bound with a sash. The word Caftan (or gaberdine) also refers to a black frock coat worn by Sasidic Jews since the European Middle Ages. An ankle-length coat-like garment with wide sleeves became fashionable for women's evening wear in the mid-to-late 20th century and was called a Caftan. [http://www.britannica.com]

• The Kaftan : Fairly simple in construction and tailoring, using mostly straight seams; it was the quality of the fabric that was intended to impress (although the majority of surviving Kaftans are of plain material). They generally have round necks, sometimes with a small stand-up collar, stiffened for effect.
  Women’s Kaftans in particular had low round or square necklines or even came under the bust and date to the late 18th century.
  However, 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 buttons fastened through loops rather than buttonholes, often attached to frogging in braid or similar fabric across the chest. This frogging seems to be more prevalent on men’s garments than women’s.
  [Click HERE to visit Thai-Kaftan.co.uk for an alternative selection of full-length Kaftan Dresses of Cotton Batik and Rayon]