Lost in the past: Peranakan culture and style #Singapore #Malaysia

Colour and pattern are the things which come to mind when I remember living in Singapore in the 1960s and although it is now a very modern city state those two aspects are still vibrantly present in the style and culture of the Peranakan community.

Peranakans are people of mixed Chinese and Malay heritage. Many Peranakans trace their origins to 15th-century Malacca where their ancestors, Chinese traders, married local women. Peranakan men are known as babas while the ladies are known as nonyas (or nyonyas) from the old Portuguese word for lady, donha . The word Peranakan is derived from anak "child" and means descendant, locally born of ancestors from afar. The Peranakans were also known as Straits Chinese as they were usually born in the British-controlled Straits Settlements of Singapore, Penang and Malacca.

Peranakan fashion is stunning, in sizzling colours, with beautiful embroidery on gorgeous fabrics; always worn with grace.

Beautiful embroidered kebayas worn above batik sarongs.

In the past, Peranakan girls were expected to be skilful in embroidery and beadwork, the two distinctive features of Peranakan fashion. The traditional costume for Peranakan women is the kebaya. Originally from Indonesia, the kebaya was adopted by both Malay and Peranakan women but with important differences. The Malay kebaya is a loose-fitting long blouse made of opaque cotton or silk with little or no lace embroidery, but the nonya kebaya is a shorter, tighter-fitting sheer fabric blouse that is often decorated with embroidered motifs (known as sulam) such as roses, peonies, orchids, daisies, butterflies, bees, fish and chickens. Being semi-transparent, the kebaya is usually worn over a camisole and secured with a kerosang, which is a set of three interlinked brooches.Beneath the sarong kebaya intricately hand-beaded slippers known as kasut manek are worn..