Batik Wear Shopping Tips and Other Notes

Perhaps you have seen or been to exotic tourist destinations in Asia. If so, you would most probably be knowledgeable about batik wear or garments with distinct prints and patterns, usually handmade. While it is mainly associated with the Indonesian culture, batik is now widely available throughout other Asian countries, as well as in selected locations in Europe, America and Africa.

Batik is a primary symbol of Indonesian textile. It is a form of meditational writing, as referred to by the locals as "batik tulis" (with tulis meaning write). Designs can take varied forms, including flowers, plants, birds, geometric shapes, and many others. In fact, there are more than 3,000 recorded batik patterns. A fabric traditionally gets its patterns through the use of a canting, a wooden drawing pen that contains hot liquid wax. Women are usually the ones to work on designing clothes either drawing directly on the fabric or following faint charcoal outlines. Today, semi-industrial and industrial methods are being used to keep the batik industry afloat.

Batiks are worn as dresses for the most part. However, there are wraps, skirts, tunics and pants made of distinctively designed fabric, too. The dresses are either for formal or informal occasions, as there are state banquets that specifically request guests to wear batik. Of course, batik must be worn during traditional and cultural gatherings, particularly during Indonesian wedding ceremonies.

If you wish to buy batik wear, it would surely be memorable if you do your shopping in Indonesia. Ideally, you must visit the cities of Yogyakarta and Solo for traditional batiks, or the coastal village of Pekalongan for modern ones. Batik is good to wear as it either symbolises happiness, prosperity, dignity, or love.