Friday, June 30, 2006

diversity in fashion. lucky me



here in malaysia, we're lucky to have a melting pot of a variety of cultures. with these different cultures, obviously comes their diffent types of fashion.

here you see me in the saree, which my husband ties for me. i just can't manage the six yards of cloth by myself. i love the vibrance (got ah, such a word?) of the colours i get from the sarees. i've now got 3, one in green, one rich royal blue and one with a mixture of fuschia and bright yellow. i always feel very feminine and dainty in a saree, hoping maybe i'll give out such kind of vibes when i dorn one. he he he...

next photo shows me in my wedding cheongsam. i got this for my own wedding. instead of wearing an evening gown, i have this long, sleeveless dark blue cheongsam with silver embroidery. i love the cut of a cheongsam. it's got slits up both the sides of the legs and it can go as high as the wearer dares. i'm a bit of a prude here and mine comes up only to just a couple of inches above my knees. nevertheless, i still feel sensuous and graceful in my cheongsams. i've got once in turquoise, one red one, and this one.

last comes my baju kurung. nowadays, loads of ladies like to add shoulder pads to the baju. i really hate that. i like this traditional pesak-gantung baju kurung. i love the baju kurung for its unrestricting feel. it's loose and airy (provided that a light material is used) and it covers up everything. i can sit as tomboyish as i want and i can still look demure. why? coz i'm all covered up! heh hehe *evil grin*

there's another type of fashion which i also love, which is the kebaya. it's a traditional form of dressing for the straits ladies, the nyonyas. my great-granny was a nyonya and kebayas and batik sarongs were all she ever wore. i do have a few kebayas hanging around in my closet, but i seldom wear them, as i feel really hot and sweaty in the few that i have. it's normally worn with a camisole inside as the material used to make the kebaya tops are usually quite transparent.

ahh... the wonders of living in a multicultural society. fashion haven =)

1 comment:

LLopez said...

You looked absolutely gorgeous in them three's. Yup! We're blessed to be born in a multi-cultural country. Hey, I didn't know we have a thing in common. My late grandma was also a Nyonya hailed from Malacca. She married my grandpa who was a local Portuguese. When she was alive, all she ever wore was the old-fashioned style of kebaya and I thought she looked radiant. Can't wait to see you in the kebaya ;=)