It’s Batik in Indonesian, and still Batik in English. Ehm, I can hear some sighing “Ewww, stop this before it gets us bored” and “Batik is so old” with knitted eyebrow.

Those comments certainly the types that I would blabber when I heard the word Batik back then. The image of the abstract pattern –usually in dark color, either deep brown, dark blue and black- already send the signal of elderly instead of classy, especially in the eyes of twenty something woman who agreed in the common law that jeans and white shirt for casual and little black dress for dinner party are never fail to extinguish our natural beauty.

Back in those days, batik is really the antonym of simplicity and elegancy. To me it said something more like ‘old, formalities, civil service, and of course gloomy’. The only good things that came up in my mind about this fabric is that when we wear it, people told us that we are being a patriotic, for loving the original product of our country. Yeah of course. It added to the definition of boring it self. How come we look proud if we looked not like ourselves when wearing it?

But these days, oh oh oh…. Try to look at these clothes… Sorry I couldn’t find a better picture, but you should see it yourself in the nearest store, this are still the same Batik and its definition that we are talking about previously. No more dark and boring color, welcome green, lime green (yeaah), red, terracotta, purple, well I still haven’t seen the pink one, but I think it’s merely the matter of time to find one.

No more old pattern, give standing applause for much more beautiful and modern yet still showing it’s Indonesian’s taste of pattern. No more basic and too (this adverb word always become the antidote for any word after it) simple model that usually hide even a guitar-like body of a woman, and congratulates the modern look that made you dreamed of putting it on for every occasions you have in your schedule.

First time I saw a ‘young’ Batik clothing is the one in Keris Galery. Still had some of the reminiscence of the ‘old’ batik, but more stylish to wear. Sorry to say, even though I was sure that they took a big step in introducing batik for young people, the design nowadays are not very different from the way it used to. Yeah there are some progress, but in my opinion I see them still in the conventional line.

And when I saw the collection of Allure, I know this is the Batik that I’ve been looking for. Most of the collection are simple yet beautiful, and some of them look beautiful yet glamorous. Deathly combination that made me actually respect this product of our country.

Some of the blouse look smashing to put on with jeans -yeah, jeans, people…. Ok, Zinadine Zidane already wear it, most of Indonesian celebs (oh,maybe you too) already found this formula also, but it doesn’t change the fact that you look gorgeous in wearing them too.

Somehow wearing batik doesn’t seem too formal for me. Somehow I don’t have to be afraid someone call you ‘Maam” instead of “Miss” when you’re wearing one.
Somehow there’s a sting of confident when we walk in the crowd wearing this, knowing that many people consider you do look beautiful in those suit – ‘oh, really, this is batik?’-

I haven’t look the men’s collection, but I guess if the women’s collection already made me smile a lot, I guess the effect of the men’s collection will slightly different.

Oh oh oh, I really wanted this one, yeah that read one shirt with semi balloon pattern.
I think it’s beautiful, not just because the icon –Anissa Pohan who is beautiful by nature- wearing it. I guess I’ll look great in that too , well in bigger size of course.

More info: http://www.allurebatik.com/