The clothing of the Brunai Malays is simple and suitable to the climate. The one garment common to men, women and children is the _sarong_, which in its general signification means a sheath or covering, _e.g._, the sheath of a sword is a _sarong_, and the envelope enclosing a letter is likewise its _sarong_. The _sarong_ or sheath of the Brunai human being is a piece of cotton cloth, of Tartan pattern, sewn down the side and resembling an ordinary skirt, or petticoat, except that it is not pleated or attached to a band at the waist and is, therefore, the same width all the way down. It is worn as a petticoat, being fastened at the waist sometimes by a belt or girdle, but more often the upper part is merely twisted into its own folds. Both men and women frequently wear nothing but this garment, the men being naked from the waist up, but the women generally concealing the breasts by fastening the _sarong_ high up under the arms; but for full dress the women wear in addition a short sleeved jacket of dark blue cotton cloth, reaching to the waist, the tight sleeves being ornamented with a row of half-a-dozen jingling buttons, of gold if possible, and a round hat of plaited _pandan_ (screw-pine) leaves, or of _nipa_ leaf completes the Brunai woman's costume. No stockings, slippers, or shoes are worn. Ladies of rank and wealth substitute silk and gold brocade for the cotton material used by their poorer sisters and, in lieu of a hat, cover their head and the greater part of the face with a _selendang_, or long scarf of gold brocade. They occasionally also wear slippers. The gold brocade is a specialty of Brunai manufacture and is very handsome, the gold thread being woven in tasteful patterns on a ground of yellow, green, red or dark blue silk. The materials are obtained from China. The cotton _sarongs_ are also woven in Brunai of European cotton twist, but inferior and cheap imitations are now imported from Switzerland and Manchester. In addition to the _sarong_, the Brunai man, when fully dressed, wears a pair of loose cotton trowsers, tied round the waist, and in this case the _sarong_ is so folded as to reach only half way down to the knee, instead of to the ankle, as ordinarily. A short sleeved cotton jacket, generally white, covers his body and his head dress is a small coloured kerchief called _dastar_, the Persian word for turban. The nobles wear silks instead of cottons and with them a small but handsome _kris_, stuck into the _sarong_, is _de rigueur_ for full dress. A gold or silver betel-nut box might almost be considered as part of the full dress, as they are never without one on state occasions, it being carried by an attendant.