Book excerpt: This longtime Malaysian fashion icon was originally a long, straight, Arab-inspired top of plain woven cotton. The Nyonyas, the women of the early Peranakan community, gradually transformed it into a shapely, embroidered, translucent blouse, fastened with a set of chained brooches and worn with a matching hand-drawn batik sarong. Sheer, romantic, alluring, yet sedate, the designs of Nyonya kebaya crosses several generations and cultures. This book showcases the collection of Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.