It is said that the ordinary Malay costumes in the old days are just clothes, but with the passage of time has developed the clothes and was always demanding, while the carriers were becoming more demanding in their fashion sense. For example, Chinese chronicles described the dress of the Malays in the 13th Century for both males and females when only the lower part of the body, without cloth covering around the torso. Later, tunics, which are simply cover-alls, which are either said to be short-sleeved or sleeveless, the most important dress of the Malays are.
The Malays were so marked and exposed to various fashions and costumes from different countries at the beginning of their civilized state, and these foreigners have strongly influenced the development of traditional Malay costumes and clothing. And when the Malacca Empire at its height in the 15th Century, with Islam as the dominant religion, the Malay dress, baju Melayu was born, so clearly described in the "Sejarah Melayu" or "Malay Annals." If it has become more civilized with the adoption of Islam as their religion, the Malays slowly covered their bodies with the principles and teachings of Islam.
The early
baju kurung collection was longer and looser, not suitable for the character of the Malay women. It was in the late 19th Century, popularized by Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor
It was reported that the baju kurung has "not only survived but thrived" in modern Malaysia by its popularity during the Islamisation of Malaysia in the 1970s and 1980s.
Although "
Baju Kurung Collection" is the name for clothes for male and female, in Malaysia, the women's clothing is called "Baju Kurung Collection", while the male clothing called a "baju Melayu". Two versions of the costumes are very popular. One is the Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga and the other is the Baju Kurung Cekak Musang. The main difference between these two fashion styles, the style of cutting the throat, where the Teluk Belanga style has no collar and is cut in the style as "tulang belut" ("eel spines or bones") sewn known. The Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga arose, as the name suggests, from Teluk Belanga, on the island of Singapore, which was previously the capital of the State of Johor. On the other side of the Cekak Musang style has a collar with holes for the five buttons with two buttons for the collar.
