Kebaya Tuesday, Kebaya Everyday

Garuda Indonesia's new uniform is inspired by a kebaya worn by Kartini. (Photo courtesy of Garuda Indonesia)

"Selasa Berkebaya" or Kebaya Tuesday has been gaining attention as a social movement campaign to encourage young Indonesian women to turn back the clock by donning the kebaya, a traditional Malay-style blouse that was de rigueur at the beginning of last century.
The founder of the campaign is 51-year-old Rahmi Hidayati, who said the kebaya's graceful silhouette and fine fabrics impart a uniquely Indonesian beauty, despite the fact almost no one now wears it as a daily outfit.

The 'kebaya activists' march to the National Monument. (JG Photo/Yudha Baskoro)

And that's exactly what Rahmi wants her campaign to achieve, to bring the kebaya back into the fore of Indonesian fashion, starting by wearing the outfit for real, not for cosplay, every Tuesday. 

Showing off 'jarik,' pleated batik cloth worn as skirts. (JG Photo/Yudha Baskoro)

On Tuesday, around a dozen "kebaya activists," some of them young women, gathered at the National Monument in Central Jakarta for a picnic and a photoshoot, clad in colorful kebayas and jarik, pleated batik cloth worn as a skirt. Some of them also carried wooden umbrellas to achieve an even more vintage look.
Rahmi's campaign now involves around 200 kebaya activists who post photos of themselves wearing the kebaya on social media and join offline events like the one yesterday. They also did a kebaya flash mob at the Dukuh Atas MRT Station last week.  (JakartaGlobe)