Beautiful Batik

I was searching for a definition of "batik" on-line, and here is what I found on Wikipedia which I think is perfect: 
"Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique.  Javanese traditional batik, especially from Yogyakarta and Surakarta, has notable meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colours include indigo, dark brown, and white, which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahmā, Visnu, and Śiva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are most commonly available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility; traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.  UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on October 2, 2009. As part of the acknowledgment, UNESCO insisted that Indonesia preserve their heritage."

Until recently, the only batik I had was from my school uniforms more than 20 years ago and a dress I made in 1989.  Other than that, I had none.  Even when the batik craze crept up in Jakarta a couple of years ago, I was the least interested to join the bandwagon.  Well, I was never a fan of batik.  I think it started because part of my school uniform was batik, and I remember the material being hot, thick and un-user-friendly.  In those days, batik was used by "old people", or for weddings, and the design of the "everyday" dress was never appealing.  It seemed old, boring and not hip at all.  However, a few months ago, a friend of mine gave me a simple batik lawasan dress which had a cute style, and I started to have some interest in it.  Then, one day I was at a department store in Jakarta and came across a beautiful designed piece, and suddenly I became fond of batik.  If I were to count, for the past 2 months I went from zero to 15 dresses made of batik!

The batiks I am featuring at the top of this entry are from this online Facebook shop called Batik Centil, owned by Vegi Handayani and Idha Jacinta.  Their pieces are ready-to-wear, inexpensive and designed very tastefully.  They sell one-of-a-kind items and if the item you like is sold out, you can order it (but not in the exact same design).  I think I am lucky to have measurements the same as what they make, otherwise it will kill me to wait for my order every time!