Baju Kurung
I never had a “pret a porter” Baju Kurung Telok Belanga or Baju Kurung Chekak Musang. Most, if not all, my Baju Kurung, even those for school, were tailor made. The in-seams are hand-sewn. Only the hems are machined together. The sarong? I was taught by my mother to tie my own sarong, even the sarong I wore to school. I can sew my own Baju Kurung but I would let my mother finished up the neckline. I hadn’t mastered the tulang belut technique. I tried learning from my grandmother and my mother but they gave up on me. They find it difficult to teach a left hander how to do the tulang belut. As time evolves, so have the Baju Kurung Telok Belanga and Baju Kurung Chekak Musang. Today, both baju styles come in a variety of interesting - and colourful - designs, including batik, and other materials. The baju on the rack in departmental stores and boutiques are mostly without the pesak (gusset or insert, as in the seam of a garment, for added strength) and kekek (godet, a triangular pie...