When I first arrived in Singapore in 1967, one of the most curious things that stood out in the streets Chinese women dressed uniformly in black pajamas and starched white tunics, and another group of women dressed in black pants and tunics with a red box-like head gear. I discovered that the first group were the “black and white amahs”, professional maids without which no rich Chinese or expat home could survive. I remember that they looked cool, calm and collected, always busy but never rushing. The second group were the Samsui women who were constructions workers – at that time, Toa Payoh HDB estate was still coming up and these women were prominent on the building sites doing all the work that the men were doing. The last time I ever saw them was in the late 70's or early 80's when some of them were laying the tiles on the pavement in front of the under-renovation CK Tangs.
Talking of Tang’s, Chinese housewives regularly came to do night shopping at the store (it used to be open till 10 pm) or the Wednesday pasar malam on Orchard Rd, in their long, strappy night dresses and flips-flops! This was long before spaghetii straps came into fashion in everyday wear, you could see them only on sundresses on the beach and in night gowns, so this sight was the cause of much merriment among my family.
Till the early 70’s, one could still see many Chinese women wearing cheong sams and sam foos, which gradually gave way to mini dresses for the youngsters. Malay women wore sarong kebayas and baju kurongs, but never covered their heads.
