Types of Kebaya
There are four main types of the Nyonya Kebaya, that is the Kebaya Panjang, Kebaya Renda, Kebaya Biku and Kebaya Sulam (Mahmood,2004). The Kebaya Panjang is a loose tunic, calf-length garment and is worn with a sarong and secured with the kerongsang or brooches. The Kebaya Renda is shorter than the Kebaya Panjang made of plain coloured voile and it has laces sewn over them. The Kebaya Biku was the first type of Nyonya Kebaya to have embroidery that featured simple scallops. The other characteristics of the Kebaya Biku were its tapered silhouette and the use of printed voiles such as polka dots, floral prints and candy stripes.
Kebaya Sulam means a kebaya decorated with embroidery. The major difference between the Kebaya Biku and the Kebaya Sulam is that while the Kebaya Biku uses simple embroidery on the fabric, the Kebaya Sulam makes the embroidery as the main focus in the garment. The fabric for the Kebaya Sulam is made from a single color.
The embroidery area is the area where the embroidery is done on the Kebaya. The embroidery area can be found in the sleeves, lapels, front and back of the hemline, and on the front and back of the neckline. Each Kebaya can have more than area which is embroidered on.
