History Of Malay Clothes

Today i would like to share about history of Baju Melayu and Baju Kurung. As you know, 200 years ago, this two cloths was designed by Malaysian State of Johore, Sultan Abu Bakar. It's designed mainly for malay people. But this modern era, this two cloths can be wear by anyone. Besides malay, chinease and indian are also can wear the cloths. It's           very suitable for any culture. This is a few example of Baju Melayu and Baju Kurung.

                                

The  Baju Kurung and Baju Melayu is one of the most popular type of costume compared to the others. The Baju Kurung is more to the courteous and shy section of the Malay community. Moreover, it covers the whole body, exposing the face and hands only, which is abides by the Islamic dress code. A few variations of Baju Kurung include the "Baju Kurung Labuh", "Baju Kurung Moden", "Baju Kurung Cekak Musang", "Baju Kurung Kedah" ,"Baju Kurung Piping", "Baju kurung Pahang and etc.

The History Of Baju Melayu

         

Baju Kurung supposed to be related with the dress 'djallabiyah' which originated in Egypt, where it is interpreted as a loose shirt. It is difficult to prove exactly since when baju kurung was first created and used by the Malays.

Although baju Melayu is a attire for male and for the baju kurung is a attire for female, in Malaysia, the female dress is referred to as baju kurung, while the male dress is referred to as baju melayu.

Two versions of the costumes are popular. One is the baju kurung teluk belanga and the other is the baju kurung cekak musang. The main difference between this two fashion styles is the cutting style at the neck, where the teluk belanga style has no collar and the neckline is stitched in the style known as tulang belut ("eel's spines or bones"). The baju kurung teluk belanga originated, as its name implies, from Teluk Belanga, in the island of Singapore, which was previously the capital of the state of Johor. On the other hand, the cekak musang style has a standing collar with holes for five buttons including two buttons for the collar.