This article addresses the impact of novel consumption practices on the shaping and negotiation of modern social identities in the late Ottoman Empire. These issues are placed within the context of the rapid social, economic, and cultural changes that occurred during the 19th century and the powerful, though ambivalent, influence of the West. A number of studies have examined the diverse and complex relations between the Ottoman Empire and European societies during this period, stressing the fundamental role of Western influence on the shaping of the late Ottoman society.1 Although most of these studies touch on issues of cultural change, it is my contention that this important field still needs to be studied in its own right.