It originated about a hundred years ago, but the hallmarks of the traditional Peranakan-style sarong kebaya make it a perfect fit for today's fashionista.

Long before Western designers started mashing different ethnic motifs in their multi-culti runway creations, nyonyas were expertly pairing the vibrant prints of the batik design on their sarongs with the embroidered embellishments on their kebaya tops.

As any self-respecting style maven knows, print-on-print ensembles are not for amateurs.

Peter Wee, 62, a fourth-generation Peranakan and the owner of Peranakan artefact shop Katong Antique House in East Coast Road, says a Peranakan woman would select the batik sarong first, then customise her kebaya by riffing on the colours and motifs.

Nyonya batik (known as batik encim or batik cina) is characterised by bright colours like pink, yellow and red and is mainly made in the Javanese city of Pekalongan, which still has a thriving batik industry.

The motifs were more varied than the typical floral and geometric designs of Javanese batik, ranging from fertility symbols such as rice grains to auspicious Chinese creatures like phoenixes and Western elements like tulips.

Visitors to the Peranakan Museum in Armenian Street and Katong Antique House can see evidence of this rich heritage in the vintage kebaya collections.

Designs include kebayas decorated with Western-style lace trim or embroidered with things as varied as chicks, flamenco dancers and dainty, pink lobsters - lovely reminders of the personalities and idiosyncrasies of their previous owners.

As Peranakan Museum curator Randall Ee, 33, puts it: 'It's all about mixing and matching. Almost anything goes when it comes to the designs a woman could commission.'

There were still some rules, of course. The colours black, blue and darker greens, for example, are regarded as mourning colours, as are kerongsang (the brooches that pin the buttonless kebaya together) made with silver, pearls, jade and mother-of-pearl.

Kerongsang for everyday use and special occasions such as weddings were made of gold and diamonds.

Still, the modest, figure-hugging silhouette of the sarong kebaya - an early 20th-century evolution from the looser baju panjang - holds allure.

Indeed, the hit Channel 8 drama series The Little Nyonya, whose Peranakan heroines are decked out in sarong kebayas, has led to more curious customers at shops like Katong Antique House and Bebe Seet's Rumah Bebe boutique, also in East Coast Road.

The series, which follows the rise and fall of several Peranakan families in Malacca and Singapore from the 1930s to the present day, ended on Monday and garnered a record-breaking 1.67million viewers, making it Channel 8's most-watched home-grown drama in 15 years.

There are no figures for the number of Peranakans here but the Peranakan Association counts 1,700 members.

Peranakans are the descendants of trading immigrants from China who married Malay women in the Straits settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang from the 17th century. Over the years, the Straits-born Chinese became more Westernised.

'Young Peranakan women are not that interested in sarong kebaya because they don't want to look like their grandmothers,' says Seet, 58, whose shop sells reproductions of vintage designs and also does custom orders.

To entice more women to adopt this traditional style, she also offers modernised versions in fabrics like organza silk and soft voile, with convenient tweaks such as invisible hooks to hold the kebaya together without the use of kerongsang.

She started taking an interest in traditional Peranakan style 15 years ago, when she spotted exquisite vintage Peranakan beaded slippers (known as kasut manik) in Malacca and decided to learn the art of beading from a friend's mother.

More than admiring an elegant style, she also sees her shop as a way of honouring her Peranakan heritage. 'I want to help preserve this special culture.'

Bring out the rich colours of vintage kebayas by pairing it with strongly contrasting items like severe dark trousers and punk-influenced accessories.

Vintage kebaya top, $150, from Katong Antique House, 208 East Coast Road; white ribbed singlet top by American Apparel, $35, from Eclecticism, 01-07 Wisma Atria; ring by Kid Robot for Tarina Tarantino, $109, from Eclecticism; denim jeans by Habitual, $329, from Inhabit, B1-03 Palais Renaissance; studded belt by Streets Ahead, $389, from Inhabit; studded bracelet, $39.90, from Addict, 03-83 Far East Plaza; sneaker heels, price upon request, from Pedder Red, 03-16 Ngee Ann City

Transform a vintage batik sarong into a thoroughly modern tube dress with the help of a skinny belt and plain shrug.

Vintage sarong, $200, from Katong Antique House; cardigan by Rachel Pally, $275, from Eclecticism; leather belt, price upon request, from Hermes, 01-02A Liat Towers; patent leather wedges, price upon request, from Tods, 01-48 Paragon

Take Peranakan style into the 21st century. Play with the vibrant colours that are the trademarks of nyonya- style batik. These bright Hermes scarves have been reworked into a skirt that brightens up a typical office ensemble.

White shirt, price upon request, silk scarves, $610 each, and leather belt, price upon request, all from Hermes; wedges, price upon request, from Hogan, 01-07 Paragon; crystal bracelet by Noir, $369, from Quint-essential, 02-01 Pacific Plaza

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Jan 9, 2009.