Throughout the 16th century, there appears to have been only one female hairstyle: a single braid down the back. As you can see on the two rightmost women in the drawing above, the braid could be ended with a jeweled tassel of gold or silver chains called a saçbağı (sach-baa-ih).
The braid was as long as the woman could grow it. The 17th-century poet Karacaoğlan fantasizes about a young wife whose hair is so long that she can wrap it around her waist:
As she wakes up in the morning, praises herself
Golden saçbağı reaches her heels . . .
I will buy you a golden saçbağı
Gather it up and wrap around your slender waist . . .
Art shows a smooth hairline with a center part, and any wisps of hair tucked behind the ear. Occasionally, though, there are hints of sidelocks. The clearest depiction of this is from a drawing by Melchior Lorichs:
