Kebaya is a traditional blouse dress combination worn by women in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Burma, Singapore and Southern Thailand. It is sometimes made from sheer material such as silk, thin cotton or semi-transparent nylon or polyester, adorned with brocade or floral pattern embroidery. Kebaya usually worn with a sarung or batik kain panjang, or other traditional woven garment such as ikat or songket with a colorful motif.
The Nyonya kebaya is a beautiful, translucent, figure-hugging embroidered blouse worn with a batik sarung by Peranakan ladies. A Nyonya kebaya is a work of art, a labour of love, a heritage, a traditional costume that is timeless. An attire for all occasions, it is elegant, feminine, alluring, sensual, glamorous and fashionable for all ages.
The traditional Nyonya costume was the Baju Panjang which can be traced to Javanese origins. It consisted of a long loose calf-length top with long sleeves worn over a batik sarung. The collar is Chinese and the dress is fastened by a set of kerongsang or brooches (Check out the 'Kerongsang / Brooches'). They were initially made of cotton but by 1910, French and Swiss voile and organdy became the fashion. By the end of the 1920s, young Nyonyas abandoned the old-fashioned austere baju panjang for the more modern Nyonya kebaya.
The word kebaya is derived from the Portuguese word "kobaya". The short kebaya was more flattering, as it was figure-hugging and shapely, with intricate embroidery at the neckline, sleeves and hem. The use of lace on kebayas may have been an influence from Portuguese and Dutch women who wore blouses with lace trimmings during colonial times. The kebaya sulam with its elaborate embroidery used to take six months to make by hand in the past.
The kebaya is worn with a batik sarung. Most Nyonyas preferred Pekalungan batik from Java because of its vibrant combination of colours, and motifs of flowers, birds, insects and other animals. Pictures below show the kebayas from my collection.
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The Nyonya kebaya is a beautiful, translucent, figure-hugging embroidered blouse worn with a batik sarung by Peranakan ladies. A Nyonya kebaya is a work of art, a labour of love, a heritage, a traditional costume that is timeless. An attire for all occasions, it is elegant, feminine, alluring, sensual, glamorous and fashionable for all ages.
The traditional Nyonya costume was the Baju Panjang which can be traced to Javanese origins. It consisted of a long loose calf-length top with long sleeves worn over a batik sarung. The collar is Chinese and the dress is fastened by a set of kerongsang or brooches (Check out the 'Kerongsang / Brooches'). They were initially made of cotton but by 1910, French and Swiss voile and organdy became the fashion. By the end of the 1920s, young Nyonyas abandoned the old-fashioned austere baju panjang for the more modern Nyonya kebaya.
The word kebaya is derived from the Portuguese word "kobaya". The short kebaya was more flattering, as it was figure-hugging and shapely, with intricate embroidery at the neckline, sleeves and hem. The use of lace on kebayas may have been an influence from Portuguese and Dutch women who wore blouses with lace trimmings during colonial times. The kebaya sulam with its elaborate embroidery used to take six months to make by hand in the past.
The kebaya is worn with a batik sarung. Most Nyonyas preferred Pekalungan batik from Java because of its vibrant combination of colours, and motifs of flowers, birds, insects and other animals. Pictures below show the kebayas from my collection.
Picture 1
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