Culture - Necessity / Assimilation?

Today is marketing day. Being a normal man of yester years I just stayed in the car and watch the going- on. I don’t intend to go into the market itself. You definitely know the condition of the wet markets in M’sia. Besides, the available parking space is a no parking place with mud to rims level. And, by staying in the car you could at least keep yourself clean, except of course the foul air that drifted by occasionally. And if you happen to watch closely the surroundings, you are bound to see the odds thing. As they say, the odd thing is the thing that stands out – the one that purges your eyes and mind. Normally something that strikes. Today, the odd thing that strikes me are two women in neat and almost new sarongs. Odd? Well, yes. Rarely you see them these days – the sarongs I mean. When they pass by, their dialects suggest a certain East Coast State. I look around and saw a lot of other things that strike me too – statistically I mean. The market goers are mainly women (say 98%), ethnically is like 50% Malays and 50% of other races, the age groupings could be below 30s (10%), 30s to 50s (85%), above 50s (5%). I think this is the norm for a wet market in M’sia. Statiscally it could be very diff for a dry market, eg at big stores, hypers etc. The young and trendy are there. The purchased groceries are also of diff kinds, texture and packaging.
Back to the 2 sarongs I mentioned above. I look around and found two more older ladies in sarongs. That makes 4. The rest, ie out of the 50% Malays (may be 150 of them today)? These women are not in sarongs, oops, I mean wearing other type of garments BUT not sarongs. Most are in long trousers, slacks or track bottoms. Of course shorter version of the trousers could also be seen, but in minute number. Culturally, and traditionally - sarongs are the order of the days then (when?) esp for ladies (30s and above). Nowdays you could hardly find them in sarongs. Does this change the result of necessity (to ride motorbikes, to run to catch the public transport etc), or the process of assimilation and adaptation is taking place, or a result of identity crisis (who, what am I now)? And, may be also because most of those that makes these groups that are found at the wet markets are not mere housewives, i.e non fulltime housewives. These are the working class people that are force economically to juggle work and family. I am not a sociologist nor a cultural expert, so I cant say what, why and when. But, I think the process will emulate into a style or fashion and will eventually be known as the dress of the Malay women of Msia (Pakaian Wanita Melayu Malaysia).