Ties that Bind

Ties. An endangered accessory. The neckpiece has been heading toward extinction since the workplace practice of Casual Friday. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, a remote workforce, and the careening of neckties into the abyss.

In 2022, the universe took note when seven world leaders posed tie-less for a photo at the G7 Summit in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. News focused on their lack of neckwear as much as politics. 

Tie talk abounds this day at Cihan Duran’s West University kitchen table, with conversation centering on family matriarch 91-year-old Gulten Turhan, 6,500 miles away in Muğla, Turkey, homeland of Cihan’s family. Ties relegated to the style gallows have found new purpose today as DIY projects – crafted into pillows, headbands, handbags, bracelets. But Gulten found an alternative use for the necktie 50 years ago, even as her husband still wore them daily for his banking job. 

She made them into a dress.

Social media’s DIY fashion influencers have nothing on Gulten.

Gulten’s niece Cihan Duran, no slouch herself in the creativity department, wears a lavender sweater she knitted for herself decades ago, with daughter Munevver by her side in the tie dress. (Photo: Dylan Aguilar)

“My oldest daughter shared a post last year from Instagram or something about a dress made of ties and I was like ‘Oh! My Aunt Gulten had that idea 50 years ago! That was her idea way back then!’” says Cihan of her mother’s sister.

Gulten, a prolific knitter and think-out-of-the-box seamstress, has kept family and friends in stitches, both literally and figuratively, for decades, with her wink of soft humor and timeless creations. She’s never met a fabric scrap she didn’t like. 

The dress, in a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns – stripes, dots, geometric shapes, flowers – preens from a hanger at Cihan’s home, a fun frock culled together in 1975 from Gulten’s long-since deceased husband’s stash of ties. Lucky for him, he owned a lot of ties, so could still abide by a mandatory dress code.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” says Cihan whose daughter Munevver, 24 – affectionately called Moon – is the current guardian of the dress. It fits her perfectly. “It’s just so interesting to look at, all the detail and how she put it all together,” raves Moon, her fingers gliding over vertical bands of colors.

Gulten sewed the dress for her teen daughter Tuba Amca, now 61. 

Gulten Turhan, a prolific knitter, is a family legend, with her heirloom-quality pieces treasured by family and friends.

“In another life, with the right opportunities, Aunt Gulten could have been a renowned fashion designer, her creations gracing runways and magazines worldwide,” says Cihan. “Yet she remains content in her role as the family’s beloved artisan, her legacy woven into the fabric of her community.”

Gulten’s artisan journey started decades ago in a modest home where resources were scarce. But her imagination wasn’t. 

“Despite the lack of formal training or opportunities, Aunt Gulten’s talent was undeniable. Her home became a gallery of her work,” explains Cihan. “She found joy in transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.”

Cihan and her siblings were lucky recipients of many sweaters and other knitted treasures. Gulten and Cihan’s families lived in the same town, Sivas, in central Turkey, for many years. “I saw her every week. We were always going to each other’s houses. She was always cooking and entertaining us.

“She was always making clothes for her own kids, and we were lucky to get to wear them also when they outgrew them,” Cihan continues. She recalls a pink sweater that Gulten made for her, upon the birth of her first child.  Its soft warmth.

“The tie dress symbolizes her ability to see beauty and potential where others might see only remnants.”

All this talk of Gulten warrants a FaceTime call. Moon translates, asking the elder how she started on her crafting path. And who taught her?

“No, there was not anyone. I just look at something and I know I can make it,” Gulten responds with a laugh. “I’m a natural born talent.” Giggles ensue and turn into laughs when she raises her arms to reveal fingers attached to knitting needles, yet another sweater in the making. Yes, knitting carries on by phone.

Cihan wears a knitted top Gulten made for her upon the birth of her first child, Alper.

Daughter Tuba, a judge, sits beside her. The apple doesn’t fall far from the proverbial tree. Tuba loves to knit, too, when not wielding a gavel.

Gulten is wearing a sweater of her own creation. “I got the inspiration for this from a man’s sock,” she explains. “I don’t spend five cents to buy these materials. I use scraps to make it.”

“I think it’s part of growing up in a culture that doesn’t have that much and so whatever you see is art,” explains Moon. “She says she gets her ideas from lots of things. She’s made things out of socks, curtains, random scraps of material, rugs. It just comes to her. She is inspired by everything she looks at.”

“Yes, she can make anything out of anything,” says Cihan, a radiologist, who moved to the U.S. with family in 2010 at age 45. She and businessman husband Ahmet envisioned better educational opportunities here for their three children. Her first-born, Alper, went to medical school in Turkey, and came to the States for his fellowship and residency. He’s a neuroradiologist in Miami. Oldest daughter Elif is in her psychiatric residency at California’s UC Davis School of Medicine. Moon, the youngest, was 10 when they moved to the U.S. She’s also on a medical path at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. 

Cihan is a professor of radiology at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston).

“We are an educated family,” says Cihan. “But it’s one thing to be educated, it’s another great thing to create. One day when I retire, I need to make more things.”

It appears that Cihan also possesses the knitting gene.

Gulten (right) poses with her sister, Ulker, long ago at their home in Turkey.

Moon models a soft lavender sweater that her mom made for herself at age 24, when graduating from Hacettepe University Medical School in Ankara, Turkey. She was engaged to be married. “I wore that sweater my mom made to Rice all the time when I was in college. People always commented on it. I will never get rid of it!”

As for a thick wool sweater that Cihan knitted for her husband during their engagement, Moon offers to take it, too. Maybe she will give it to a husband one day, she says. “I am most certainly single right now. But maybe one day! I mean, can you believe the detail on that? That’s incredible!” 

Of the tie dress, Moon says, “It’s definitely something I would wear on a date.”

“A conversation-starter for sure,” quips Cihan. 

Like Gulten, the culture of Turkey is known for its caring, hospitable culture, she stresses. Cihan’s home is testament to this hospitality. This day, she’s offering heaven on a plate. Kalburabasti. This marvel of Turkish gastronomy hits the spot with its ground-walnut filling and pistachio topping, pairing perfectly with a spot of Turkish tea. 

They pore over pictures of her aunt’s creations and recall Turkish traditions like Gold Days, a social gathering in Turkey where women friends come together in rotation at one another’s home to eat, drink, share stories, and just generally get up to speed on each other’s life. Each guest brings a golden coin for the hostess, a way to strengthen bonds, show solidarity, and help with each other’s financial needs.

“I love coming from a culture where people are so extremely giving,” says Moon. “My mom’s aunt has made things for everyone she knows with no thought of anything in return. She does it out of pure love.”

Moon loves that tactile connection, too. “I think sometimes ‘Oh, I should create something.’ But I don’t think I have the time. But when I look at things my ancestors have created out of nothing basically, without any sort of privilege, it’s inspirational for sure. Then I’m like, I have no excuses. At all.”

A camera and camcorder are Moon’s needles and yarn. “I love photography and my dad’s Canon is mine now. I’ve been taking a lot of photos and editing and making videos. In the same way my mom’s aunt knits, I make videos to a song that reminds me of the person I’m making it for, then I gift it to them. It brings me a lot of joy.”

“See there? It’s about the loving and caring,” stresses Cihan. “You can buy anything for anyone, but it’s not the same. When you make something, that’s from your heart. Aunt Gulten is a legend. She’s a testament to the power of creativity and the enduring impact of a single, gifted individual on the hearts and lives of those around her.”