General Information » Culture & Lifestyle » National Dress

For most part, the Singaporean dress code closely follows western attire. For men, trousers, shirt and tie are expected of working professionals, a jacket or suit for formal dress and a tuxedo for glitzy occasions. There are no rules that women must wear skirts for any occasion; dress etiquette is very much North American and European in form and cosmopolitan in fashion. Guys, Singapore’s women are very fashion conscious!

The Chinese, Malays and Indians have their own traditional costumes which are worn on formal occasions or on a daily basis by the older generation. The traditional Chinese dress for women is the cheongsam, a one-piece dress typified by a high collar, long skirt (or mid-calf) in silk, embroidered satin or other fabric. It’s often tightly fitted with a high slit up the side. Very elegant and sensuous, it’s a splendid alternative to the little black dress for special events where men would wear a suit or tuxedo.

Malay women have at least two traditional costumes. The baju kurung comprises a blouse worn over a long skirt or sarong. Female Malay office workers frequently wear this on Fridays as a sign of respect for the day, even if they wear modern clothing the rest of the week. Their other traditional dress is the figure-hugging sarong kebaya, made up of a tight blouse and skirt of fine batik wrapped around the body. It’s the uniform of the Singapore Airlines stewardess. Men wear the baju melayu, a shirt worn over a sarong or trousers.

Southern Indian women wear the sari, a long strip of fabric wrapped around the body in various styles, most commonly around the waist with one end draped over the shoulder. Northern Indian women typically wear a shalwar kurta, a long blouse over loose trousers. Men wear the dhoti or the shalwar kurta for daily wear and for formal occasions, the achkan consisting of normal trousers worn with a collarless jacket often richly embroidered.

Reiterating the desire for a unified Singaporean identity, the government invented a national costume. This is simply a dress or sleeved shirt of no particular design as long as it features the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid motif, but it is seldom seen.