Kebaya

Last night I drove to Bruce and his families house.

I love coming there. It is such a relaxed vibes.

Normally...
Agung sits down with me and we practice a few words and numbers. He proudly counts to 10 and after that it gets a little bite complicated.
Made runs around and screams- Leeeetttsss gooooo, which he picked up somewhere

After dinner we sat down the whole family. I had brought some fabrics that I got from Lisa. I planned to make some tunikas at the balinese tailor (cheap!!)

I told Wayan (Bruce wife) and Kadek( Bruce niece) that they should pick one material and make a Kebaya.

You should see Kadek's eye. Suddenly her eyes were shining, pulled out the fabric, wrapped them around her and started making design for her new Kebaya.

(Kebaya is the blouse you were during cermony)

You see...these kebaya are not just a cloth to were during the cermony. This is a highly important fashion thing for the young balinese girls.
Just like fashion in the west, Kebaya designers design new Kebaya with the right color, cut & pattern of the season.

As a balinese, you spend alot of time at the cermony.
It is there fore important to look good as you might catch a glimp of your future boyfriend and husband.

My friend Kesuma is the expert in Kebaya. She has two huge closets full with Kebayas and know exactly what the latest kebaya fashion is.

This is usually the welcome greeting when I come to Kesumas house and we go for a cermony

-Pinglan....yooouuuu laaa...(Shake her head because I do not wear the right latest fashion shoes for the outfit, which she later complains that she get sore feet of.)

Than she points to the perfect folded Kebaya, sarong, hair accessories, make up...

When it is a important cermony there will sometimes be a make up artist, who fix your make up and hair.
In the begining I looked like a ghost!
You see, for the balinese it is fashion to have white skin.
You do everything to make sure that the sun-rays do not reach your skin.
Most balinese people look at you very strangely when you say that you love to have there brown golden skin.
So when the make up artist prepare you make -up, she will also make sure that the already white person becomes even whiter.

One day after a cermony Kesuma and I went to Tierra Grosir (like a supermarket).
As we walked in Kesuma says to me
-The people might stare at you
I said to her- That it is ok! (usually some suprized balinese who is looking as a "bule" wear a Kebaya)

We walk through the supermarket and this time it felt totally diffrent. People would seriously stare and I kept on hearing how people were talking and whispering. When I looked back, they would given me this cheeky smiles.

I went to Kesuma and I said - You were right, they are actually really staring.

Where Kesuma turns to me and says:
-They are not staring at you! They staring at your Kebaya. You wearing the latest fashion in Kebaya.