[1][2] In its formal form, Baju Melayu is the national dress of Malaysia[3] and Brunei,[4] typically worn during official events and functions.

For a ceremonial attire or known in Malay as sepersalinan, commonly worn during cultural functions, the songkok headgear typically replaced with the tengkolok.

[14][15] However, its early usage in the literature might possibly in generic form, referring to the general Malay clothing, rather than a specific type of outfit.

[16][17] An alternative term, the 'Baju Kurung' (Jawi: باجو كوروڠ‎) literally 'concealed' or 'enclosed dress', which was also a generic one, is thought to be introduced later, supposedly coined for the design created by Temenggung Tun Hasan during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah, that manage to conceal most of body parts.

Girls of rich families wear four or five golden circles on their foreheads, and the daughters of the common people use strings of colored glass beads instead.

This was the description by Fei Xin, a Chinese Muslim and an Arabic scholar who wrote an account about pre-Islamic Pahang in the Xingcha Shenglan.

[23] It was believed that from this era, the early form of a distinctive Malay dress, consisting of the basic kain (cloth), baju (shirt), and destar (headdress), began to take shape in Melakan society.

The five basic parts are garment (baju), bottom (seluar), headgear (destar), sash (sebai), waist (kain samping).

[27] Further improvisations took place during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah (1488-1511), when Temenggung Tun Hassan introduced an expanded version of the shirt with a more loose-fitting shape and lengthened sleeves to wrist level.

The Melakan style of dress remains in Malay societies for the next hundreds of years before it was brought again to the fore during the reign of Abu Bakar of Johor (1862-1895).

A more elegant style of Baju Kurung was introduced with a shortened hem of the shirt to the level of the back, three pockets and a round neckline with a short slit opening down the front.

The seluar are traditionally wide at the top, fastened with a running string called tali, and closer at the legs where it extends to below the knees.

But the most common syles of Baju Melayu are as follows: This style is named after Telok Blangah in Singapore, where the administrative capital of Johor was located under the rule of Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim.

The most striking feature of this style is that the shirt's neck opening is hemmed with stiff stitching called tulang belut (literally eel's spine) and ends with a small loop at the top of one side to fit a singular button known as kancing.

In other parts of Southeast Asia, a type of dress identical to the Cekak Musang style is also commonly known as Teluk Belanga or its other spelling variants;taruk balanga (Maranao-Tausūg) and taluak balango (Minangkabau).

It was originally made for the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman and has the same cut as Cekak Musang and Teluk Belanga but different collar's design.

[42] In modern times, the Central Band of the Royal Malay Regiment that commonly perform in the ceremonial dress, became the most senior and the official central band of the Malaysian Army that is dedicated to providing ceremonial honours and music to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

[41] An almost similar design can also be found adopted in the full-dress uniform of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces with only differences are in colour variants.

[43] A sarong can also be worn along with a roll of cloth which could be used as a bag, a blanket or a weapon[44] The Baju Melayu is commonly worn by Malay men in Southeast Asia during major Islamic festival celebrations like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Islamic New Year, particularly in countries with significant Malay populations; Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Philippines.

Other local indigenous Malay ethnics in Indonesia also have their own style of Baju Melayu probably which have the same similarities such as the usage of the Songkok as the headdress for men and kain samping.