History of Malay Traditional Clothes

Baju Kurung

A proven difficult to accurately about who is first to wear baju kurung. This occurs because the baju kurung in its original form has long been used by many people in the archipelago region. The early baju kurung was longer and looser, unsuited to the figure of Malay women. 

According to Judi Achjadi in the book "Indonesian Women's Clothing District" to state that the baju kurung was introduced in Indonesia by Muslim traders and Western India. This shirt has the influence of the Middle East such as cut-shaped neck Tunic, which forms the neck of the first shared by the Arab past.
According to Dato 'Haji Muhammad Haji Sulaiman Said in the book "Clothing Patur Malay" baju kurung clothes now come from Johor during the reign of the late Sultan Abu Bakar in 1800 in the Teluk Belanga, Singapore.

Malacca Malay Sultanate era, people have their own clothing, namely dress baju kurung Malay origin. Baju kurung is called tight and short. Tun Hassan became pioneers when he change the form of baju kurung to the original form of Malay clothes worn now.
By Mattiebelle Gettinger, baju kurung was worn by court dancers in Palembang and clothing has become popular in Indonesia in the 20th century.

Baju Kebaya

Kebaya dress is traditional clothing worn by the women of Malaysia and Indonesia. He done than gauze paired with a sarong, batik, or other traditional clothing such as songket with a colorful motif. Believed to originate kebaya rather than the Arab countries. The Arabs brought baju kebaya (the Arabic "abaya") to the archipelago of hundreds of years ago. Then spread to Malacca, Java, Bali, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. After the entry into force of cultural assimilation which lasted for hundreds of years, the clothing is accepted by the local population.

Prior to the year 1600 on the island of Java, kebaya is the only clothing worn by the royal family group there. During the Dutch colonial era on the island, the first European women wearing kebaya as Rasmi clothes. Every day, kebaya changed from only using mori fabric using silk with colorful embroidery. Clothes that resemble the so-called "mistress kebaya" was first invented by the Peranakan people than Melaka. They wear the sarong and beautiful beaded sandals called "shoe manek". Now, mistress kebaya is undergoing renewal, and also among women not famous in asia. Apart than the traditional kebaya, expert fashion is looking for ways to modify the design and make kebaya become something more moden. Kebaya is modified must be worn with pants jeans.

According to Denys Lombard in his book Java Nusa: Cross Culture (1996) Kebaya derived from the Arabic 'Kaba' which bererti 'clothing' and introduced by the Portuguese when they landed in Southeast Asia. Kebaya said diertikan as types of clothing (tops / blouse) used the first Indonesian women during the period of the 15th century or 16th Masihi. Lombard argument by analogy certainly thank especially the linguistic searches yet until now we still know 'Abaya' which means long tunic typical Arab. While others believe Kebaya nothing to do with clothing tunic women during kekasiran Ming in China, and this influence is transmitted after a massive immigration visited the peninsula of South and Southeast Asia in the 13th century until the 16^th.

Baju Melayu

Baju Melayu is the general reference to the traditional Malay costume for men and it is said that the style has been in existence since the 15th Century. Actually it has two specific style names, the Baju Kurung Cekak Musang and the Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga.

The man widely acknowledged as the creator of the male Baju Melayu, and the person who first popularized it in the 15th Century in the Malacca Sultanate is Tun Hassan Temenggong, the son of The Malacca Empire was enjoying its heydays during the 15th to early 16th Century until the Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511. It was the strongest empire in the region then stretching from Sumatra in the south to Thailand in the north, and was a center of entreport trade, with traders from India, China, Middle East and Europe coming and sailing to trade there.

With the influx of foreigners to Malacca, they also brought with them their own fashion styles. These eventually influenced the Malay attire, which combined the flowing loose fitting styles (robes) of the Arabs and Indians, trousers and pants of the Mongols and Turks, with the simplicity and elegance of the Europeans. And the Malay Baju Melayu was born.

The Malacca Empire was enjoying its heydays during the 15th to early 16th Century until the Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511. It was the strongest empire in the region then stretching from Sumatra in the south to Thailand in the north, and was a center of entreport trade, with traders from India, China, Middle East and Europe coming and sailing to trade there.

With the influx of foreigners to Malacca, they also brought with them their own fashion styles. These eventually influenced the Malay attire, which combined the flowing loose fitting styles (robes) of the Arabs and Indians, trousers and pants of the Mongols and Turks, with the simplicity and elegance of the Europeans. And the Malay Baju Melayu was born.