Adat Bali

Traditional fashion for Balinese women and men have always paired textiles and patterns beautifully. My parents custom tailored my first Kebaya* at 3 years old. Back then I probably complained that the lace was itchy and hot, and my sarong was to tight, not to mention the headache from the heavy gold head-dress. But I hold nothing but love for them now! When I'm back at home in Bali I look forward to the opportunity to dress up in one of my many many choices of Kebayas and Sarongs. The best sarongs I find are always kept in my Dad's closet... beautiful, high quality, worn, soft, smells of frangipani flowers, jasmine incense and holds years of memories of the Holy Temples of Bali.

*a traditional blouse dress combination made from sheer material, worn with a sarong, batik or woven garments such as ikat or songket with a colorful motif

Wedding day in custom white lace off the shoulder Kebaya, Brett in batik head-dress

Balinese girls in Hindu ceremony in colorful kebayas/silk batik sarongs

Javanese girls in traditional Java cotton kebayas/batik sarongs

Me and my sister in Adat (costume) Bali, gold embelished songkets and head-dress

*Batik, a cloth/fabric which traditionally uses manual wax resist dyeing technique. Silk batik is especially popular

*Ikat, means "to tie" or "bind", a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design.

*Songket, means "to hook", a fabric that belongs to the brocade family of textiles. Hand woven in silk/cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads for shimmering effect.

* Wikipedia