Hanna, this is so interesting and the clothes are beautiful. The baju kebaya you are wearing in the first photo is just gorgeous! You need to find occasions to wear it more, although it doesn't look like it'd work as smart casual with a denim jacket :o) Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for the write-up Hanna! I always admired the traditional malay outfits, now I know their names and differences. You look great in both outfits. Like Joy, I wish you could wear them more often.

Lovely, hanna! I love traditional clothing. I grew up very close to both Filipino and Vietnamese cultures, and was often given traditional clothing as gifts growing up. I loved it. Unfortunately I no longer have any of the clothing (but my mom does, hmmm) or I'd share photos.

Hanna - these are gorgeous. The one you say is too dressy - I'd still encourage you to wear - you look so great in it and the color is just perfect for you. Thank you so much for sharing.

Just gorgeous. Hanna, that first one is especially killer. I also wish you could wear it more. Thank you for sharing.

Stunning! LOVE it. Yours is loveliest! My late Mum had a few kebayas (she was half Indonesian). So beautiful :0)

Thankyou for sharing these beautiful photos with us. The fabric is so gorgeous.
Did you are someone close to you make the pieces for you?
Does baju mean dress?

wow, what positive responses! i'm glad, because i love my culture and i absolutely love being in kurungs and kebayas :). i jump at the chance to wear them -- usually weddings, religious events, or eid.

i have quiet a number of both kebayas and kurungs because, just as you do during chinese new year or any number of celebrations, new clothes are a big deal for eid :). san, these pieces can be bought off the rack, but many of my special occasion kebayas are tailor-made -- fit is so very important in a kebaya! since i am not home, my mother often just chooses material for the top and bottom, either at a local store or on her travels in thailand or vietnam - and has her tailor make it in my measurements (it helps not to have grown or shrunk too much!) and has it mailed here for eid. although, in the second photo, the sarong was tailor-made and my mom bought the top to match at a department store.

angie, i didn't know your mother was half-indonesian! do you speak any bahasa indonesia or own any kebayas? :P

oops, forgot to add - baju does mean dress, or actually 'clothes' in general :)

How lovely Hanna! I find that all over Asia, no matter how different the cultures are, one thing they all seem to have in common is GORGEOUS textiles!

I always get grilled for saying this, but I absolutely hate wearing saris. If I need to get decked out in Indian clothes, I much prefer these:

http://blog.handmadeinindia.or.....alwar.html

I do not have any at the moment. The last time I went to India was when I was 17 and don't go shopping here for Indian clothing. I prefer the ones that look like tunics and leggings or skinnies to the ones that have the harem-like pants.

I often mix it up a bit when the occasion is right: wear an Indian tunic with jeans or something like that. I wonder if any of your native garb could be incorporated that way so you could get more use out of it.

Oh, those are just gorgeous, Hanna! The one from your sister's wedding is a stunnign color on you. I think you should wear it more often, for sure.

Hanna, you look absolutely beautiful. Thanks for the explanation & demo of the differences between baju kurung and baju kebaya. The kebaya you wore at the wedding is amazing and such a lovely fabric! (We haven't really seen you in pink very often either, have we?)

Hanna, you are stunning! Thanks so much for the explanation of Malaysian style. I feel like I've learned something new this morning! This is so interesting. Thanks for sharing!

hanna, you look amazing in the first baju kebaya. That pink is wonderful on you. I really, really like the second kebaya too, so chic. The whole process of getting traditional wear in Malaysia sounds so similar to how it is done in India. When I was younger, most of our clothes were sewn from scratch from fabric that was bought separately. Would be so much fun picking out the patterns, necklines etc. Nowadays, everybody buys a LOT of ready to wear clothing at the newly established mall stores :-)

Hanna, you look beautiful. The baju kebaya is lovely. I enjoyed learning about the differences.

thanks, everyone! the kebaya is actually red - my sister-in-law doesn't have a very good camera, LOL.

maya, i totally understand, although coming from a country with such a large indian population, i have always wanted to try a sari! heehee. i also actually own one or two sets of of salwar kameez, and a couple of just the tops -- they are so light and comfy and breezy! i like incorporating the other malaysian cultures into my kebayas as well -- there are a couple i've had tailored with mandarin collars and traditional chinese toggle buttons in the front for a hybrid look (to go with MY hybrid looks, hehe).

anybody else have any traditional looks to share? :)

I know it's hard to believe, Hanna when you see very Nordic – looking me. I guess I ended up with an Asian-ish body type, though. My brother ended up with a Dutch body type. Interesting how that works out.

I make lots of Indonesian food and know the Bahasa words for them. I can count to 10 and know the odd phrase but that’s it. My late Mum was fluent and lived in Jakarta for the first 19 years of her life. The Dutch colonized Indonesia so there are lots of Indonesian people living in the Netherlands and lots of mixed marriages (of which my parents were one). In fact Indonesian food has become the national food of the Netherlands! Much like Indian food has become the national food of the UK. A small world!

I have a few of Mama’s batik kebayas. I treasure them. Where your kebayas as often as you can, hanna!