Traditional fashions of Indonesia

ChildArt, Jan-March, 2006 by Sisylia Octavia Candra

Indonesia is known for its fabulous Bali Island and its friendly people. Indonesia is also famous for its culture, in Indonesia, there are many traditional dances, such as Minangkabau dancing from Sulawesi and Reog Ponorogo from East Java. Moreover, there are numerous amazing festivals: Wayang Festival is one example. Even though Indonesian cultures are very rich, I am not going to write about all of them in this article. Instead, I am going to write about the traditional fashion of Indonesia.

One of the well-known fashions of indonesia is "Kebaya". Kebaya is originally from Java and it is also a work of art. Because of its detailed decorations, this traditional costume is considered timeless--it takes lots of time to make it. Materials used for making this costume are very high quality; there are always selected Indonesian fabrics with specific and special patterns used for shirts, sleeves, and lapels. Because of its elegance, Indonesians love to wear Kebaya for special occasions, such as traditional weddings. Kebaya is usually worn by women. It is a blouse with lots of decorations and it is sheer. Women wear a "kemben", like a tank top, underneath the blouse and then over the blouse, they put on necklaces as additional accessories. Furthermore, for the skirt, known as a "sarong", people wrap a large sheet of fabric around the waist. Usually, the sarong also has traditional designs. These designs are "hand-drawn designs which are converted onto fabric with wax; then, the fabric is dyed, scraped, and dyed again color by color until the design is complete". (http://www.kebayas.com/sarong.html) Kebaya is one of the famous fashions of Indonesia; it is very unique and detailed; therefore, a lot of people love to wear it.

Kebaya has been simplified and modified. Formerly, there were not lots of varieties and decorations. Modern Kebayas are combined with Eastern and Western styles. Also, there are numerous varieties of materials used to make Kebayas, from ordinary to elegant and shiny materials with lots of beads on it. People sometimes combine a Kebaya with a long scarf in order to make it look more stylish. Nowadays, Kebaya is much simpler and quicker to wear than in the past because the kemben has been combined with the blouse already. Sarongs have also been simplified. Sometimes they are just like pants--they have a zipper and easy to wear.

Aside from Kebaya, other Indonesian fashions are "Bodo" and "Mingakabau" shirts from South Sulawesi, "Kurung" shirt from West Sumatra, "Balinese" shirt from Bali, "Betawi" shirt from Jakarta, and many other traditional fashions.

Sisylia Ocatavia Candra, now studying in Canada, is an ICAF Youth Board Member from Indonesia. She and her three sisters have together won 1,153 awards in local, national and international art competitions.