East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania and Maritime Southeast Asia. The term has traditionally excluded China, Japan, and other countries to the north of India and the Himalayas.^{[citation needed]}

The names "India" and "the Indies" are derived from the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan and were applied by the ancient Greeks to most of the regions of Asia that lay further to the east than Persia. This usage dates at least from the time of Herodotus, in the 5th century BC (see Names of India).

The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and most of Indonesia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can be used to refer to the islands of Southeastern Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago. The name "Indies" is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that come under Indian cultural influence (except Vietnam which comes under the Sinosphere).

Dutch-held colonies in the area were known as the Dutch East Indies before Indonesian independence, while Spanish-held colonies were known as the Spanish East Indies before the Philippines' independence. The East Indies may also include Indochina, the Philippine Islands, Brunei, Singapore and East Timor. It does not, however, include western New Guinea (West Papua), which is part of Melanesia.

Edgar Vos (5 July 1931 – 13 January 2010) was a Dutch fashion designer.

Vos was born in Makassar in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1931. He studied fashion at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.

He started a chain of fifteen boutique clothing stores known as Edgar Vos Boutiques.

Vos died of a heart attack while holidaying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a day after being admitted to a hospital suffering from what is suspected to have been pneumonia. He was 78.

He is survived by his partner, Geert Eijsbouts.