KHONG SWEE LIN is a docent at The Peranakan Museum, Malay
Heritage Centre, Indian Heritage Centre and Gillman Barracks
Outreach. She also guides at special exhibitions for the Asian
Civilisations Museum and National Museum and is passionate
about Singapore’s history and heritage.Every article she produced bore
the “Sylvia Kho” mark of quality,
from hand-stitched headdresses
to gowns and veilsleFt Sylvia’s niece, Susan,
reminisced that her aunt had
skilfully cut her wedding veil
freehand in a flashShe introduced flexible stiffeners, then unavailable
locally, for that full skirted “can can” effect needed in
wedding dresses (her competitors used cane inserts
which popped open if extra weight was added to the
garment by way of a train).
The move towards a stronger Occidental influence
in attire had begun. Every article she produced bore
the “Sylvia Kho” mark of quality. Besides gowns, brides
wore veils and headdresses, the last either imported or
stitched personally by Sylvia. While her gowns have
been showcased, her bridal accessories were in a class
of their own. Hand-stitched headdresses of guipure lace
flowers reflect her Peranakan training and heritage in
their utmost delicacy, fine stitch work and liveliness.
To complement the whole outfit, Sylvia offered
makeup and beauty classes and services, hairstyling and
even made wax-flowers for headdresses. Never one to
do things by halves, she opened bridal, hair and beauty
boutiques around town in Outram Park, then Tanglin
Shopping Centre and thereafter Orchard Towers, after
initially working from her tiny bedroom in Tiong Bahru,
where she simply transferred her baby from bed to floor,
laid a plank on her bed and started to cut gowns.
Although helped by a team of seamstresses later, she
personally cut every gown and attended fittings. Susan
Chong, her niece reminisced that her aunt had cut her
wedding veil freehand in a flash. Such was her expertise.
Sylvia’s creativity knew no bounds. Thinking out of
the box, she realised that adornment extended beyond
the bridal pair to their carriage, so she placed bridal
dolls on wedding cars, now a practice taken for granted.
Quickly spotting opportunities, she provided gowns for
rent for budget brides. As she put it simply, “There was
a need...”
Her clients evidently agreed. They straddled every
stratum of society from VIPs to politicians and royalty
to the girl next door. Her daughter Sophie recalled that
if a bride faced financial problems, Sylvia would waive
the cost of the gown or accessories.
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of Sylvia was the
God-given ability to help anyone – customers, friends,
her staff or even strangers. Her businesses not only
made brides beautiful as her tagline proclaimed, they
were her vehicles for healing relationships and changing
lives, thanks to her deep Christian love and concern for
people. Her counsel, indeed, went beyond the dress. agAs part of her good works,
Sylvia generously donated
200 gowns in 2003 for
fundraising purposes
benefitting Singapore’s St
Luke’s Hospital. In 2013,
she donated 13 of her gowns
to the National Museum of
Singapore.
In this spirit, her daughter
Sophie Kho established
Sylvia’s Lace in memory of
her mother. Sale proceeds
of handcrafted handbags
fashioned out of Sylvia’s
vintage lace collection will
be donated to Singapore’s
Pathlight School and The
Enabling Village.feature: sylvia Kho