Indonesian women wear clothing like us. Some women in Indonesia like to wear a long piece of material wrapped around their waist like a sarong. The weather is hot so they wear loose fitting tops. They also wear sandals because they are cooler than shoes. However, shoes are not allowed inside a temple.
In the event of a special occasion such as a meeting or formal get-together, women are likely to wear high heels for footwear. Long skirts or three quarter skirts, but nothing higher than the knee is acceptable. Formal jackets or shawls are a common fashion. back to the top
The national costume consists of some very graceful head-dresses, which are made of light material and decorated with feathers or elegant flowers. Decorative material around the upper arm and wrist are always bright and ornate.
Indonesia is home to some of the most elaborate temple festivals in the world . Women wear traditional dresses with lace around the arm, long strips of material supporting the bust and have their hair pulled back tightly. Festivals are a colourful affair .
Men customarily wear baggy, western style, three quarter length pants, accompanied by loose tops. This is appropriate as Indonesia has a very hot climate. Men also wear sandals that are forbidden in the temples.
The men are very western in their special occasion attire. They wear a business style tuxedo with a tie and black shoes.
At the festivals men normally wear heavy masks with lots of feathers .The masks are said to scare away evil spirits. Thick, but not heavy belts are used to support pants or make the chest look bigger.
Normally colours are used traditionally. They use long tops that are usually made from batik material which takes a long time to make.
Girls wear long skirts, polo tops and some private schools have knee high socks and ties.
Boys wear long shorts above the knee, polo tops and knee high socks. Ties however are not normal. Most schools have caps but these are not sun safe.
Batik is a type of fabric that is created by melting hot wax, painting the fabric in the shapes of flowers or patterns with the wax and then dipped in dye. The parts of the fabric that has been covered in wax are not coloured but the rest of the material comes out the colour of the dye.