Considering the enormous historical - political and social - shifts that have occurred in Indonesia throughout the last century, the form of this conventional clothing, has remained fairly unchanged. Its function and meaning however, in contrast to its style, has experienced major changes in colonial and post-colonial Indonesia, operating to meet different groups' political agendas, community needs and aspirations. The kebaya has come to indicate the setting free of women in Indonesia through a symbol linking the kebaya to the 19th century "proto-feminist" figure of Raden A. Kartini.
In the 19th century, and prior to the Nationalist movement of the early twentieth century, the model of kebaya had enjoyed a period of being worn by Indonesian, Eurasian, and European women alike, with slight style variations. In this time distinguishing class and status was important and produced variants of the main costume. Now we can get the modern kebaya ( or in Indonesia called as baju kebaya modern) that may be constructed of silk, velvet and brocade.
You will find two main varieties of the Indonesian traditional clothes. The top, known as baju kebaya may be of two main form: the semi-transparent straighter cut blouse of the Java, Bali and the more tightly tailored Sunda kebaya and the extra Islamic compatible, plainer baju kurung may become a loose-fitting, knee-length long-sleeved blouse worn in the more adherent Muslim areas- including former Kingdom of Johor-Riau (now Malaysia), Sumatra and parts of coastal Java.
The blouse is generally semi-transparent and worn over the torso wrap. The skirt or kain is an unstitched material wrap around three metres long. The term sarong in English is erroneous, the sarung (Malaysian accent: sarong) is actually stitched together to shape a tube, similar to a Western gown, the kain is unstitched, needs a helper to dress (literally wrap) the wearer and may be held in place with a string (tali), then folded it at the waist, after that held with a belt which may hold an attractive pocket.
In Indonesia, specially in Java, Bali and Sunda, the kebaya modern is normally batik which must be from plain stamped cotton to elaborately hand - painted batik tulis embroidered silk with gold thread. In some other locations of Indonesia such as Sumatera, Flores, Lemata Timor, and other islands generally use kain ikat or songket. In Sumba, there is a famed decorated kain with lau hada: shells and beads.
In Bali, a kebaya has a much more topical history. The Dutch are believed to have enforced the wearing of the Indonesia traditional clothing. At the time Balinese women's breasts were uncovered, not including for formal and traditional occasions, through which a sabuk might be wound tightly around the upper torso, covering the breasts but leaving the shoulders and arms exposed. The girls of Buleleng, the regency of northern Bali, then would have been some of the first to adopt the kebaya as their daily clothes. continue...
