The Flow Of Baju Kurung

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THE humble baju kurung. It’s versatile, suitable for the festive seasons, at formal functions or even as office attire. The dress is meant to be worn loosely and is rather conservative looking. Still, it has its own special characteristics, which represents grace and tradition for the Malays.

Despite being branded ‘old fashion’ and conservative, the baju kurung is still popular. It’s very comfortable and can be stylish if you know how to carry it off with the right accessories like the selendang and brooches.

A typical baju kurung is worn with a sarong. This sarong can be tied in a style known as the “ikatan ombak mengalun” where the knot is tied at one side of the sarong, either on the right or left depending on the wearer’s convenience. This style is preferred because it’s more practical and easy for walking when you take big strides.

In the old days, the village women will have a “kain kelubung” to cover their heads as they leave their houses. This is a sort of head-cover to shade from the blazing sun or it’s simply used as a shawl. Sometimes, the sarong is used in the form of “kain berdagang luar” where the sarong, tied at waist level, is worn over the baju kurung. This sarong is usually made of kain telepok, songket, gerus or kain batik.

Types of Traditional Malay Attire

Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga

Baju kurung is the traditional apparel for Malay women in Malaysia. This loose-fitting knee-length baggy baju kurung is worn with a sarung. Normally sarung is worn for casual wear at home.

The Teluk Belanga has a typical neckline with no collar, stitched in the ‘tulang belut or the ‘mata lalat’ style. As the name suggests, this baju kurung hails from Teluk Belanga, the island of Singapore, which was previously the capital state of Johor.

Baju Kurung Cekak Musang

This style of baju kurung has the stylish Mandarin-inspired collar or Cekak Musang. The prominent collar comes with five buttons including two buttons for the collar.

This form of Baju Kurung used to be made of velvet with matching songket. It is often adorned with jewelleries and is usually custom-made especially for traditional Malay weddings.

Modern Baju Kurung

This is the latest and modern approach to baju kurung. Even the modern baju kurung has evolved with time. It is shorter, shapelier and worn with a long skirt and comes in various designs.

Unlike the typical baju kurung, kurung modern top has no pesak. Instead, it’s replaced by zip and darts while the bottom can be a long skirt, A-line skirt, pareo or mermaid skirt.

This bottom skirt also comes in different styles like wrapped, pleated, with or without slit. While the slit can take about 2 feet long either in front, at the side, the back or with just two flaps at the back.

The modern baju kurung has evolved so much that it comes in many forms. You can see modern baju kurung in all kinds of fabrics from satin, songket, chequered, polka dots, geometric patterns, batik, pastel shades and lively colors.

 

Kebarung or Kebaya Kurung

This is the alternative baju kurung for those who want to wear something different. It is a combination of the baju kebaya and the baju kurung. It is loose and almost reaches the ankles and it is not one of the traditional clothes of the Malay.

The ‘Kebaya Kurung’ has a kebaya cut with long sleeves and fastened at the front using chained brooches. It gives out a comfortable outlook on the whole. Women who are cautious of their figure will opt for this style as it offers maximum comfort and is equally appealing.

 

Baju Kurung Kedah

This is a short blouse with a baju kurung neckline and a three-quarter sleeves. It is comfortable and practical as you can move around easily because of the practical and hassle-free design.

It is worn with long skirt or batik sarung or a kain pelikat tied to the front with the grand motif infront. Those days, most married Malay women would wear this attire.

Baju Melayu

While the Malay women opt for Baju Kurung, the Malay men wear Baju Melayu. This shirt-like traditional outfit is divided into three parts. The first is the long sleeved shirt-like fastened together by studs called butang or kancing.

The studs usually made of different types of butang from the normal ones to gold, silver, precious or semi-precious stones. The studs may also be connected with a light metal chain, almost string-like, which will be concealed behind the shirt.

The collar looks like a stiff Mandarin collar known as the Cekak Musang. The second part is the trousers. These two parts are often made out of the same type of fabric.

The third is the kain samping, a skirt-type adornment, which is folded around the waist. This kain samping is made of kain tenun, kain songket or simply kain pelikat. To complete the whole attire, baju Melayu is often worn with a headgear called songkok.  

(Written by Zieman)