W

hile Ramadan is supposed to be a time for Muslims to think of the poor, shopping is one popular way for people to pass the fasting hours.

This time of year, as people buy new clothes for themselves and their families ahead of the Idul Fitri celebrations, shoppers hope to get the best bargains on all the new trends.

To the untrained eye, the designs can all look pretty similar, though certain items definitely draw more buyers than others.

Drop by Tanah Abang market these days and it's the Gita Gutawa dress or the Manohara headscarf, named respectively after a singer and a Malaysian princess turned soap actress.

Riana Wijayanti, a regular at Tanah Abang market, said that she had bought richly patterned headscarves labeled "Manohara" and a mukena (women's praying cloak).

For Idul Fitri, "it's a custom in my hometown that all of us look like we're going on the runway," she said.

Another trend is the long, loose kaftan. While the traditional kaftan only bears embellishment on the front and the sleeves, the kaftans here have a crease just below the chest with brass ornaments attached.

Asmara Dewi of the Aurelyn boutique in Tanah Abang market, said the crease was designed with petite women in mind, who might feel overwhelmed by the billowy nature of standard kaftans - but decorated with embroidery instead of the brass ornaments.

Orders have been plentiful from Makassar, South Sulawesi, she said. "They see that the dress resembles their traditional dress, baju bodo."

With Ramadan is normally the time for Indonesia's majority-Muslim population to spend big in the lead up to Idul Fitri, shopping malls have been holding late night sales and offering special promotions. Taman Anggrek mall, for example, is open late on Sept. 4-5 and Sept. 11-12.