The bib seen here is a garment worn from the neck on the chest to protect clothes from food spillage. It belonged to a Peranakan (Straits Chinese) household at Dublin Road, which was headed by Mr. Koh Beng Swee, a third generation Peranakan. Born in 1924 at Chin Swee Road, Koh was a Hokkien Peranakan. He was enrolled in the Anglo-Chinese School from 1931 to 1941. Koh worked as an architectural draughtsman in the Architectural Department of the City Council in 1950. He was then transferred to the Engineering/Design Branch of the Public Works Department. He was part of the team that designed the National Library at Bras Basah. Though the Peranakans followed Chinese traditions and practised them elaborately, the Babas (males), in particular, were anglicised and adopted Western lifestyles. This was reflected in their consumption habits, as many imported lifestyle products from the West, such as the bib seen here.
