Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A sarong is a large sheet of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a skirt by men and women in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. The fabric is often brightly coloured or printed with intricate patterns depicting animals or plants, checked or geometric designs, or patterns resembling tie-dyeing. The dyeing technique of batik is closely associated with sarongs. A sarong is a rectangle of cloth and nothing else: no seams, buttons or fastenings are built into it, and the wearer's tying, tucking or pinning is what turns it into a garment.
North American sarongs may have decorative fringing on two sides. They may also have ties, which are long thin strips of fabric used to assist the wearer in holding the sarong to his body so it does not fall off while moving around.
If a sarong does not have ties, a pin may be used, or the fabric may be tightly tucked under itself in layers to hold it in place. Numerous tying methods exist, in some cases customarily differing between genders of wearer. A belt may also be used to hold the sarong in place.
In North America, the fabric of the sarong is generally quite light, often rayon.
The dyeing technique of batik is associated with sarongs.
Learn about women's sarongs in our women's clothes section.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sarong). 12/14/04 |
Batik, the wax-resist dyeing technique of Indonesia and Malaysia, is the classic sarong decoration. Hot wax is applied to the cloth in a pattern, the cloth is dyed, and the wax is removed, leaving the pattern in the undyed or differently dyed ground; repeating the process builds up multi-coloured designs of animals, plants and geometric forms. Printed sarongs imitate the same look at lower cost. Because the cloth is a simple rectangle, the pattern is designed for the flat sheet: borders run along the edges that will show at the hem and the wrapped front, and the field pattern repeats evenly so the sarong looks right however it is folded.
The sarong belongs to the family of draped garments, clothing made from unstitched cloth arranged on the body, alongside the sari and the dhoti. Its versatility comes from that simplicity. Wrapped at the waist it is a skirt for everyday wear across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Wrapped higher, under the arms, it becomes a dress. Over the shoulders it is a shawl; arranged across the body it carries a baby against the wearer's chest; at the beach it is a cover-up over swimwear, a towel substitute and a picnic cloth in one. The tying method signals the use: a firm layered tuck for active work, ties or a pin where security matters, a loose knot for casual wear.
Care is the care of the base cloth. Cotton sarongs wash easily and soften with age, and batik colours are best kept vivid by washing in cool water and drying out of harsh sun. Light rayon beach sarongs rinse clean after swimming and dry in minutes, but snag more easily than cotton. Rolled rather than folded, a sarong takes almost no storage space, which, as much as its looks, explains why travellers adopted it worldwide.
Numerous tying methods exist, sometimes differing customarily between men and women. A sarong may have ties, long thin strips of fabric that fasten it to the body, or it may be held by a pin, by a belt, or simply by being tightly tucked under itself in layers so friction keeps it in place.
The same rectangle of cloth serves as a wall hanging, a shawl, a baby carrier, a complete dress or upper-body clothing. In North America sarongs are most often used by women as a cover-up over swimwear, where they may have decorative fringing on two sides.
Traditional sarongs use cotton and other woven cloth decorated with batik or printed patterns. North American beach sarongs are generally quite light, often rayon, chosen to dry quickly and pack small.