Kebaya is a traditional women's blouse usually made of cotton, silk, or brocade that has openings on the front and long sleeves. Kebaya is usually worn during formal occasions, combined with batik sarong, songket, or other traditional textiles. But recently, kebaya with simple design appears in many casual events, as well as in Jakartas government offices every Thursday.
In its early days, traditional kebaya were only seen in the court of the Javanese Kingdom of Majapahit, to be mixed with kemben a torso wrap worn by noblewomen for extra cover, following the newly-adopted Islamic teachings. At first, kebaya was only allowed for royal family and female aristocrats. But later on, it started to be adopted by commoners.
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As a popular fashion item in Javanese kingdoms era, the Javanese style kebaya had made its debut in some other kingdoms around the archipelago. Royals in Aceh, Riau and Johor Kingdoms, as well as some kingdoms in Northern Sumatra, adopted the blouse for social status.
After hundreds of years journey, kebaya has been adopted to local traditions and cultures, with nearly every region in Indonesia having its own form of the garment. Here are some types of kebaya we can see worn in Indonesia today.
Kebaya Kartini
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Actresses wore kebaya in Kartini movie (Photo via Trivia.id)
This is a popular type of kebaya among aristocrats in 19th century Java, especially during the lifetime of Indonesian national heroine Raden Ajeng Kartini. The term of Javanese kebaya is often associated with kebaya Kartini, although there are a few differences between the two.
Garuda Indonesia adopted kebaya Kartini for its flight attendants (Photo via YouTube)
Kebaya Kartini usually made of fine, opaque fabrics, and, as seen in several Kartinis photos, white is a popular color. This type of kebayas coversthe hips. It also has minor adornment, such as stitching or applied laces. It also has a v-shaped collar, which is similar to Peranakan Encim kebaya. What makes kebaya Kartini different is the signature fold on the front, creating a tall and slender impression of the wearer.
Sometimes wearers of kebaya Kartini put a kerongsang, a metal brooch, on their chest as jewelry.
Kebaya Jawa (Javanese Kebaya)
Black velvet Javanese kebaya by Anne Avantie (Photo via Pinterest)
Kebaya Jawa as a wedding costume by Didiet Maulana (Photo credit: IKAT Indonesia)
The elegant Javanese kebaya comes with a simple design and a V-neck cut. Usually, its made from opaque or semi-transparent fine fabrics, plain or patterned, with stitching or embroidery adornment. They also come in other materials, such as cotton, brocade, silk and velvet. The transparent kebaya is worn over a matching undergarment, such as a bodice, kemben, or camisole.
Kutubaru
Kutubatu in patterned fabrics, mixed with Javanese batik (Photo via TrendBajuKebaya)
Kutubaru with batik, adorned with kerongsang brooch (Photo via Instagram/@Inspirasi_Kebaya)
Kutubaru is another type of kebaya believed to be originated from Central Java. Its form is quite similar to Javanese kebaya. The difference is kutubaru has additional fabric called bef, connecting the opening of kebaya around the chest and abdomen, creating a rectangle-shaped collar, to recreate the look of the unbuttoned kebaya worn over matching kemben in the past.
Kebaya Bali (Balinese Kebaya)
(Photo via Shutterstock/Lano Lan)
Like its Javanese counterpart, Balinese kebaya also has the signature V-neckline with folded collar. The tight-fitting kebaya is made of semi-transparent fabrics, such as cotton or brocade, adorned with embroidery or lace. Sometimes the fabrics arealready patterned with stitchings. Kerongsang brooch is seldom used and in exchange, Balinese wear a sash or shawl wrapped around the waist.
Balinese women wearing white kebaya and sarong during ceremony (Photo via Shutterstock/Tropical Studio)
Balinese women wear white kebaya as pakaian adat (customary dress) with sarong during rituals and ceremony. For other occasions or daily activities, they prefer more colorful kebaya with shorter sleeves.
Kebaya Sunda (Sundanese Kebaya)
Kebaya Sunda as a wedding costume (Photo via Verakebaya)
The Sundanese kebaya usually made of brocade in various colors, and often transformed to modern and wedding kebaya. The tight-fitting, embroidery-adorned kebaya has a U-collar neckline and sometimes features broad curves to show more skin. The contemporary Sundanese kebaya has an extra long lower parts on the back, covering hips and thighs. Wedding kebaya even has a sweeping long train, believed to be adapted from European wedding dress.
Kebaya Encim or Peranakan
Kebaya Encim or Kebaya Nyonya combined with batik pesisiran (Photo via Wikimedia)
Encim or Peranakan kebaya was usually worn by Chinese-Indonesian ladies who lived in Chinese settlements in various regions in Java coasts, such as Lasem, Tuban, Surabaya, Pekalongan, Semarang and Cirebon. Kebaya Encim is differentfrom the Javanese kebaya for its finer embroidery and lighter, colorful and finer imported fabrics, such as silk or linen. Kebaya Encim goes well with batik pesisiran sarong, which typically comes in brighter colors and more dynamics patterns.
Kebaya Encim also popular among Chinese ancestry in other Malayan countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, with the name of kebaya Nyonya.
Kebaya Indo
(Photo via Wikimedia)
Kebaya Indo or Eurasian kebaya were popular amongst European ladies during the Dutch colonnial era in Indonesia. Dutch women and Indos (European-Asian ancestry) of high social status adopted kebaya as a formal social dress, adding their signature lacy fabrics to the traditional blouse. During their stay in the Dutch East Indies, the tropical heat made them abandon their tight corset and instead wear comfortable undergarment under their kebaya. They probably adopted kebaya from the clothing worn by Nyai, Indonesian native in colonial households who lived in the house as housekeepers or concubines.
Eurasian and Dutch kebaya (Photo credit (right): David Grandison Fairchild)
Kebaya Indo has slight differences with Javanese kebaya in its shorter sleeves and lace adornment. Sometimes Dutch women imported fine laces from Bruges or the Netherlands for their kebaya embellishments. Kebaya worn by colonials usually were white in color and made of light fabrics. Black silk kebaya were often used as evening wear.