Melanau and Kebaya Nyonya

Ok, it is widely known that nyonya from Melaka wears it. But, for Melanau community in Mukah, Sarawak it is widely worn. They wear it for wedding ceremony, Sunday Mass or special occasions.

My mother is a tailor. Her expertise is kebaya nyonya embroidery. I have seen the measuring, tailoring and embroidering process. The process of embroidering is long and tedious. It took lots of patience and hard work, no surprise that a piece is very expensive.

My mum has three different machines. The first one is 35 years old Singer sewing machine. That is her first embroidery machine. The second one is which she just bought last March, 2006. It cost her RM2170.00.It is also Singer, but I forgot what model. The machine does a very well and fine embroidery. But my mum has a little problem because the machine is fast and strong. It is actually an industrial sewing machine but does very high quality embroidery. But so far, practice makes perfect. She can handle it better.

The third one is Lux embroidery sewing machine. My mum’s friend has it and she’s a embroidery tailor too. The machine is more user friendly, but I personally prefer Singer since the embroidery is finer.

I came across to this website, www.kebayas.com. It is a kebaya online selling. When I look at the price tag, I was so surprised because a piece can reach RM1500. But thinking again, the price is deserving all the meticulous time spent making it. Besides, the design is tricky and complicated.

My mother is a popular embroidery tailor in my area. It is no surprised because her workmanship is very high quality. Besides, she always has new patterns and designs. Thanks to me, I always on the look out for new designs via internet. In addition, she has this book by Datin Seri Endon about kebaya nyonya. There is the second one coming out and she might be getting it soon.

About the price, hers is considered cheaper. This is because she is doing it at “kampong level”. If you go to boutique in Kuching or Kuala Lumpur, the price is maybe RM200 more. For her customer “bunga besar” or bigger designs means price starts at RM200. So far, the most expensive had been requested of her is RM500. I tell you, that RM500 is maybe RM800 in big cities. I asked her why her price is lower, and she explained that this is village folk, she has to consider. The popular request is RM 70 pattern, where old women prefer on their kebaya. This kind of kebaya is like an everyday wear for them.

There is one kebaya pattern that both of us have been looking for so long. We do not have the peacock design yet. I remember the HSBC advertisement where the lady is trying on her peacock kebaya. From there, me and my mum are trying to find the design. So far we are out of luck.

The two kebayas shown here are tailored for two different ladies with same red cloth. It worn for their nephews’s wedding. Same colour but different designs. Each cost RM280.
But the truth, my mum told them it cost RM300, but a discount for village folks. It took my mum more than a month to finish it. Well, she is not 24 hours in front of the machine. Besides, Twinkle is always there to hassle her.

Actually, the yellow flower is from Datin Sri Endon’s book. Quite nice, isn’t it? The seond one is actually a popular request from her customer. So far, my mum already made five of them. She told me she sick of making the same pattern. Oh well, customer request cannot be denied.

My mum has a lot of kebaya nyonya, but I haven’t got the time to take pictures of it. Maybe, I should make one section just dedicated on kebaya nyonya so that I can show the world the whole collection. Cool huh? More about kebaya nyonya here.