Following fashion in Indonesia

I'm old, fat and ugly so I have no interest in fashion at all.
Come to think of it, as a young handsome and pretty disgusting biker I had about the same total lack of interest.
Fashion for me is a pair of shorts and a clean singlet, maybe a T shirt or a polo shirt if I'm being posh.
I do own a few pairs of proper trousers, a selection of office shirts and a few batik shirts, but I don't wear them much.

Men's styles are pretty much as you'd see in any western country; women wearing a wider variety from western styles but round necks rather than V and slightly longer sleeves.
More religious ladies tend to go with a headscarf, some even going as far as full coverings but these are pretty rare.

Some follow fashion and there is a massive selection of places you can shop.
These vary from open markets, a wide selection of places with massive stocks of clothes in a wild variety of market type stalls such as the very good ITC malls dotted around.
There are a wide selection of street tailors and dressmakers where you can buy anything you like, all made to measure.
Then you go up to western style clothes shops, these being pretty much as you would expect on any western high street.
Top end and expensive is equally easy with a very wide selection of tailors and dressmakers that will make anything out of the highest quality materials in the world.

I have a lot of batik shirts as my boss likes to see me in batik as it makes more handsome and she likes that who am I to argue. I have ditched ties and long sleeve shirts for work.
Riding a bike I am not used to having at least 4 layers on in 33 degree heat and its fine. You will see riders completely covered as not to tan by the sun.
Hotpants seem not to be fashionable amongst teenage girls anymore rather jeans or leggings while boys its still t-shirts and shorts.
The upmarket malls often become a walking fashion show by the faux rich as they parade around in their best clothes. Back in the streets the colours seem to be grey or dark blues and blacks being worn by men while women wearing a variety of colours which is nice.
Traditional clothing is still very much important here such as dasters and kebayas as well as Batiks but it all gets blended into western fashions.
Clothing chains from all around the world can be found in most malls from Marks and Spencer to Zara and Century 21 to Pull and Bear.

ITC has a few places around Jakarta (and maybe other areas), and they're very handy for a wide variety of clothing, especially if your interest is cheaper but still reasonable quality stuff.
I buy most of my work shirts from a stall in their BSD centre.

This is ITC, BSD (or at least some of the clothing sections).
You'll notice most are market stall style but they have the advantage of an indoor air conditioned area.

There are many top end clothing shops in Indonesia, Pronto being a fine example of such a place. Shops such as this have a wide variety of materials available and are able to make pretty much anything you want in whatever top quality materials you desire.
Ladies and gents fashions are taken to a whole new level at their shop in Bintaro sector 9.
I have my eyes on a suit from there. It isn't cheap but the quality is outstanding.









Pictures with kind permission of the management. Thank you.

Dear Fred, As we guys age, we do not care about appearance. Behind our backs, usually ladies of any age treat us and say "old man" as an overall meaning...that no more suitable for dating or outside virile age.

Best you stick to neat and nice wear, if just to present the image of being as virile as a biker or as outstanding in appearance as those featured in GQ.

Only ladies can change the feeling of " old, fat and ugly", and its not with just changing your clothes for you...all said in humour

I generally wear shorts and a T shirt but need to dress in a more formal manner on occasion, thus my consideration of a new suit.
Bikers, even ex bikers, are sometimes mistaken for people who give a crap.

So you see you are really a virile guy in disguise. Have a great day

Sounds good. I love Indonesia, I travel there 2-3 times a year. Give me some tips on local fashion for men, including  batik. 😊

Thanks!

Sohail

I don't really follow fashion trends but I see people in Bali have really good taste in Fashion. I see that people here are very confident and comfortable with how they look and what they wear which is a  good thing. My style after coming here hasn't changed much but ofcourse it's more western clothing nowadays, all my ethnic outfits are deep inside my wardrobe.
I once wore a saree to church and it attracted a lot of attention. But people here are really nice, they don't tease you, i got lots of compliments and it made me feel pretty good. So I wouldn't mind roaming around in Bali wearing a Saree.
Over all, fashion in bali is kind of influenced by the western culture but the fabric and quality depending on the brands and street shops are quite good. Love all the Tie/dye ripped T-shirts and printed playsuits/jumpsuits.

Enjoyed reading your post. There's something very exotic about a woman in a saree, I love it. A nicely worn saree, tied well, with a fashionable blouse does it for me. 😊

sohail00000 wrote:

Enjoyed reading your post. There's something very exotic about a woman in a saree, I love it. A nicely worn saree, tied well, with a fashionable blouse does it for me. 😊

Elegant -
pleasingly graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.
"she will look elegant in black"
synonyms:    stylish, graceful, tasteful, sophisticated, classic, chic, smart, fashionable, modish;

Yep, that about sums up a lady in a saree.

I have seen a few here but they aren't common in Jakarta - bit of a pity because they look so nice.

Tailors again

Many small tailors are dotted around the streets but they vary in quality a lot.  I sometimes use these places to make up a shirt from material I have been gifted.

Men with larger feet can have problems over here, especially if you have a pair as wide as mine, but there's hope.

I found a chain store that stocks shoe sizes up to Ero 46, yes, 46 as standard stock, and in unusually wide fittings.

https://www.skechers.com/en-us/store-locator

The one pictured below wasn't on their map at the time of posting but you'll find it in Aeon mall, Serpong.

Hello Priscilla,

Personally I don't follow Indonesian fashion as it is nothing special at all, mostly cheap looking clothing or Muslim style clothing for women or very basic stuff.  There are expensive brands but in my opinion most is over the top fashion badly designed and over priced. The better clothes are imported brands.

You will usually catch me wearing a pair of Levi jeans and a white denim shirt or a T-Shirt bought from overseas during my travels, along with a pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, Uniqlo boxers and Uniqlo low cut socks and a Nike cap.

Most of the locals that I know and hang out with also do their shopping overseas and I can safely say that their wives or girlfriends usually wear Nike, New Balance, Onitsuka Tiger and Camper shoes and mostly prefer to do their shopping overseas. I also have a couple of pairs of Campers and have been wearing their shoes for more than 20 years as they are really comfortable being made from pig skin which is very soft. I won't tell you how many pairs of Campers and Onitsuka Tiger shoes my wife owns. My children mostly wear Onitsuka Tiger and New Balance and Nike shoes. The Tiger seems to rule....hehe!

One of our local friends wears Crocs and we give him a lot of stick when he does that and ask him to change his name to Philip or Trevor, oh the shame....

I recently bought some slacks and shorts from Marks & Spencer a couple of weeks ago, and another pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes. Uniqlo had sales on when I was traveling so most recently I bought several pairs of casual shorts, more grundies and socks and some clothes for the kids.

My wife also recently ordered Regetta Canoe sandals from Osaka in Japan. Actually she bought pairs for all the family, but I told her to give them away as it really isn't my style and my name is not Philip or Trevor, so she sold my pair to one of her friends. They sold in an instant.

One thing good about Indonesia is batik fabric. Our children must wear batik shirts and blouses to school on Wednesdays so we usually buy the nicer fabrics and have the clothing items made by tailors. We find that stores selling batik clothes mostly sell traditional batik as you generally find in Yogyakarta, but we find these prints to be too serious for children.