Kebaya Caring Tips

     Kebaya Caring is not hard, follow these tips below to make your kebaya durable and comfortable when used.

     If you wear Kebaya not for a long time when attending the event, you don't need to wash the kebaya. All you should do is keep the kebaya in a cool and windy or well air-conditioned indoors then you can keep it back into your drawer.

     If you want to wash your Kebaya, the first thing you should notice is the material of the kebaya itself. Kebaya has a different material with other clothes, Dry cleaning is always the right choice when washing your kebaya in order not to damage it texture.

     After you wash your Kebaya, keep out the kebaya from direct sun or dried in the sun. Better you leave them in a cool and windy or well air-conditioned indoors.

     When storing the Kebaya in your drawer, is not recommended that you hang your Kebaya because the material is elastic enough, if you hang it, the shoulder dress will go down. The best way is to keep it folded.

Today's Kebaya

     

     If we try to define what a kebaya is, it may prove to be difficult as it is constantly changing to reflect the changing times and fashions that Indonesia is experiencing. Nonetheless, it is possible to make some generalizations about the kebaya. Most Kebaya are made from a lace brocade. Most kebaya fabric uses a floral motif either printed or woven into the textile and its length can fall somewhere from above the waist to below the knee. It usually, but not always, has long sleeves. It is usually fastened at the front, and if not, then gives a semblance of doing so. Some variations of the kebaya will use a batik sash, which is coordinated with the kain, draped over the shoulder as an added accessory.

     Although women in the market can be seen wearing kebaya, we can also see exquisite variations of them in government gatherings and parties and high society social functions. The beauty of this national dress is undeniable. Some of the most influential women in Indonesia are married in kebaya that can be described as “works of art” with their hand embroidered detailing and beading. Designers such as Ami Amianto have helped to promote the kebaya not only as a important part of Indonesian clothing history but as a very beautiful item of clothing that Indonesian women are proud to wear.

     So the next time you see a women wearing a kebaya you will understand that she is not just wearing a functional piece of clothing but she is also wearing a symbol of Indonesia's cultural history which represents national symbolism and high fashion too!

Basic Price For Kebaya's

Exclusive Kebaya

 

RM750 to 

RM1500

 

Unique Kebaya

 

   RM550 to RM600

 

Intricate Kebaya

 

RM450

 

Classic Kebaya

 

RM350

 

Exquisite Kebaya

 

RM300

 

Types Of Kebaya

There are several types of kebaya :

Suitable for Wedding / Function

Embroidery Kebaya

Traditional Kebaya

Kebaya Cheongsam

Origins of the Kebaya's

     After Dutch colonization, the kebaya took on a new role as the formal dress for the European women in the country. During this time, the kebaya was made mostly from mori fabric. Modifications made to this traditional costume later introduced the use of silk and embroidery to add design and color. The most dominant form of kebaya worn on the islands of Java and Bali today, can be visibly traced to the kebaya worn in Java and Sunda from the late 19th - early 20th century onwards.

     Many of the easily recognizable features of today’s kebaya – a tight fitting blouse that enhances the torso of the woman; the fold-back collarless neck and front opening; long sleeves; and the type of semi-transparent fabric – are evident in the kebaya of the past century. Traditional kebaya required the torso of the women to be wrapped with a long piece of cloth called a stagen. Women of higher social status would have help in wrapping their torso with the stagen however women who were not so fortunate to have help could dress themselves by tying the end of the stagen to a post and literally wrapping themselves into it.

     The semi-transparent kebaya blouse was then worn overtop of the stagen.  This blouse was fastened with a brooch rather than buttons and buttonholes. It was customary to combine the kebaya with kain – a length of unstitched cloth worn on the lower part of the body, often (and incorrectly) referred to in the English language as sarong. This kain was wrapped around the body with the pleats being placed at the front of the body. Traditinally this kain was dipped in a cornstach solution and then carefully folded by hand into pleats and pressed to produced the crisp look that was desired.  

Kebaya's History

     There is much speculation as to where the kebaya could have originated from. There are some who say that the kebaya originated in the Middle East, while others argue that it may have come from nearby China. Derived from the Arabic word kaba meaning “clothing” and introduced to Indonesia via the Portuguese language, the term kebaya has come to refer to a garment whose origins appear to be a blouse. It was first worn in Indonesia at some time during the 15th and 16th centuries. This garment is similar to what is described as a “long, fitted, flared kebaya known as kebaya panjang6, worn in the 16th century by Portuguese women arriving on the south-western coast of Malaysia, situated across the Malacca Straits from Sumatra, in northwestern Indonesia.

     Many sources also cite Chinese influences on clothing of the time, one source comparing the kebaya to an open-fronted long-sleeved tunic worn by women of the Ming Dynasty. The introduction of this kind of dress were accredited to two major occurrences of this time; the emerging influence of Islam and the arrival of the Europeans to the archipelago. Whether it was Arabia or China that brought us the wonderful kebaya, there is no denying how quick the use of this garment was made uniquely Indonesian and spread from one island and ethnic group to another which its own regional variations. This quick diffusion of the use of the kebaya was also linked to the spice trade that was happening during this time in history.