The traditional kebaya is a long sleeved garment reaching to around the waist. It has no buttons down the front. White lace kebayas such as this were favoured by Nonyas and Indo-European ladies of the Dutch East Indies. This piece could have been made from cotton trimmed with lace. The decorative motifs are simple cutwork designs of repeated floral patterns running down the frontal hems and along the bottom of the piece, as well as at the edge of the sleeves. Cutwork is an embroidery technique in which portions of the fabric are cut away to create holes that are then reinforced and filled with embroidery. A kebaya was usually worn together with a sarong, which is a rectangular piece of dyed cotton cloth worn as a skirt by wrapping it around the waist.
