Transformasi Fesyen Pakaian MuslimDi Semenanjung Tanah Melayu, 1930–1940

Muslim Dress Fashion TransformationIn Malay Peninsula, 1930–1940

Abstract

In the post First World War, the Muslim societies in Malaya were going through a transition period. It led them to a dilemma to choose between preserving the traditional values or adapting to new values, which were usually perceived as a part of modernism and development. This development entails in the social history as the Muslim societies of Malaya after 1930 as they had different characteristics from those prior to that period. The changes that occurred within the Muslim societies are crucial to be understood as it had a huge impact to the Muslim societies in Malaysia today. Hence, this article attempts to illustrate the transformations that took place within the Muslim society especially on the changes that occurred to the fashioned that they employed in their daily life. The emergence of a “new and modern” fashion caused a heated debate among the Muslims within the period of this study. A close scrutiny on local newspapers regarding the issue of fashion offers an explanation on the social transformation that took place in 1930–1940. This argument based on the fact that the popular values and norms in a society are usually presented through the attires. This article also aims to understand issues that arose following the changes of Muslimattires in 1930–1940 in order to understand the social history of the Muslim in that period of time