Blast from the past: Batik pants on Jl. Legian Bali
Walking down Jl. Legian this afternoon I saw a blast from the past. A shop selling nothing but patchwork batik shirts and pants. When I came to Bali in 1993, the shops were full of this stuff. In those days ladies with huge bundles would go from guest house to guest house trying to sell them, patiently unfolding them, offering to you to try, and then refolding them. Back then locals would offer to swap batik clothing for t-shirts and other western clothes. That really was a tip off right there.
Yogyakarta in Central Java is where all this stuff comes from and in 1993 the main street Jl. Malioboro, was lined with stalls selling it. The second tip off was that I never saw a local wearing the batik and after buying a dozen shirts and long pants (couldn't resist hte urge to go native) I figured out why. The material is super thin and will rip, the colors run on the first wash and the stitching is so bad you can yank one of the arms off. Needless to say, one month later almost all of my batik gear was toast.
Its so surprising to see this stuff still being sold and I never see a single person wearing it these days. The shop owner wanted 150,000rp for a set of pants and shirt. Give me a break!
By Nick | Permalink
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Comments
Nick we bought batik 4 years ago, have washed them in the washing machine innumerable times, no fading no shrinking, some of my favorite things to wear, & always get a compliment on how unusual they are, so you just have to inspect for quality.
Cathleen C, totally agree with you. The trick is knowing what is good batik and what is crap. With batik, you have to steep it in cold water, and add bit of salt to ‘fasten’ the colour. Even though the batik has gone through a long process of dyeing and washing, it is always best to steep the material.
Now that I think about it, I think that I did do the salt steeping just in case. I do cold water wash & gentle cycle, with warm dry. The shirts we just bought off the street and my favorite was done by a shop lady in Ubud, went back this last trip to buy her out and the shop was closed the whole time that we were there and I could only see handbags in the windows. Darn it anyway.
Cathlen C, next time you are in Bali there is a great shop for Batik and all kinds of temple wear. It’s in Poppies Lane 2 opposite the Circle K further down past Gang Benesari towards the beach end. You can’t miss it, there are several white steps leading up into the shop.
She sells top quality Batik. I buy all my sarongs and sashes there.
Wore them all the time in Yogya, and, still wear them. great and comfortable. If you want top quality Batik pants and any other Batik products then go to a Batik Kris Shop. There is one in the bottom floor of the Matahri in Kuta Square. They are a bit more expensive than the shit stuff you can buy on the street but they last for a long time.
Going local is better than looking like a tourist even though we are guests in the country.