In Bali there is no day going by without a ceremony somewhere. It can be a temple ceremony, a ceremony in a house, a wedding, a cremation or another life cycle ceremony. Every ceremony goes with many colorful offerings and decorations in either the temple or the house. Balinese are also dressed in their traditional clothing when going to a ceremony, whether it is attending one, helping in the preparations or just coming as a visitor.

 

As you probably have seen around Bali, Balinese are dressed very beautifully when going to a ceremony. Women wear a very colorful kebaya (a traditional blouse-dress often made from lace), a sarong (a length of fabric wrapped around the waist) and a selendang (a scarf to put around the waist). These three items are always color matched and women follow the recent trends and fashion regarding color and model.

 

The staff of Volunteer Programs Bali are also often attending ceremonies. As community is of utmost importance for the organization, it is more than often that the staff is invited to a ceremony. This can be a temple ceremony in the village of one of the programs, a wedding ceremony of one of the student family’s or a bigger temple festival in the area of the schools or office. The staff usually goes to these ceremonies together, as a team.

 

Volunteer Programs Bali decided that it would be nice if the girls are dressed in the same colors when going to a ceremony. Therefore we went shopping! Going to a kebaya and sarong shop is always exciting for Balinese women. If you ask an average woman in Bali how many different kebaya’’s they have, they probably can’t answer that as it will be so many!

Same as in modern fashion, trends are changing very quickly and it is of course important that women are wearing an up to date color and model.

It was a feast to shop with the staff, there are so many colors to choose from! Fabric is bought by the meter and the kebaya will be made by a tailor of your own choice and you can decide the model yourself.

 

For going to a temple ceremony the prefered color to wear is white, therefore we choose one white kebaya. We also chose an orange one, for when going to a house ceremony, a wedding or other social activity in the community.

A matching sarong and scarf and we were ready!

 

The staff was very happy with their new outfits. After going to the tailor we did a small fashion show at our founders house and we can’t wait to attend a ceremony together in our matching outfits!