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Published: October 10th 2011
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Barong Tagalog
This is the national costume (for men) in the Philippines. Made of translucent fabric from either jusi (silk) or pina (pineapple leaf fibers), worn as a formal attire. The Filipino men dress up in
Barong Tagalog especially for formal occasions. The translucent fabric used is either
Jusi which is our local silk equivalent or
pina cloth from handloomed pineapple leaf fibers. It has a front opening with some embroidery, and was originally colourless. Of late, modern barong tagalogs come in different hues. As worn, the barong tagalog is never tucked into one's pants. It is a light dress shirt typically worn to weddings, funerals and other formal affairs. A slightly less formal Filipino attire is the
Polo Barong which is usually short-sleeved and made of cotton, linen or ramie materials. Many offices in the Philippines have prescribed the Polo Barong as uniforms for its male employees.
The barong tagalog preceded the advent of Spanish colonization. Tagalog is actually a dialect from a region in Southern Luzon which includes Batangas wherefrom a heritage town called Taal is made famous for its barong tagalog materials.
Baro't Saya or Terno For Filipino Women
The women have a wider range of choices, where men are limited to Barong Tagalog and Polo Barong. The former First Lady, Imelda Marcos -- she of the shoe craze fame -- popularized, and in
Terno As Worn By Imelda Marcos
Imelda enjoyed her terno costumes as much as the shoes. She wore these lovely ternos to many formal events while her late husband was then President. fact looked really lovely and regal in her
terno. The terno is worn in formal occasions, and has seen a lot of variations but for the standard sleeves. Then there is the
baro't saya , a contraction of "baro at saya" which literally means 'blouse and skirt'. A collarless blouse is, like the barong tagalog, typically translucent, such that it is necessary to put a "baro" over the blouse. This detachable outer blouse with wide sleeves is more often elaborately embroidered to render it more formal. And where this blouse has an outer blouse, so does the skirt have an outer skirt, typically just another fabric almost carelessly draped over the inner skirt. The outer skirt or drape is not standard though. I have seen some outfits without it, but nonetheless elaborately designed.
Villa Tortuga and Villa Sariaya
Villa Tortuga is in Taal, Batangas -- just a couple of hours drive south of Manila. {check out this
link for more photos and for details. Further away is Villa Sariaya in Sariaya, Quezon. (check out
Sariaya, Quezon: Another Rich Man's Town) Both heritage houses rent out Filipino costumes for 250-300 pesos for pictorial purposes. One need not buy nor have these expensive costumes
National Costume: Baro't Saya (For Women)
i enjoyed donning this baro't saya -- literally means "blouse and skirt". The collarless blouse made of translucent fabric has an outer blouse, typically embroidered, with wide sleeves. to be able to wear them as both houses offer this opportunity to "go back in time" and have a total feel of how our more affluent ancestors back in the 18th-19th century dressed up.
We "toyed" with some of these costumes and had a fun afternoon. The photos in sepia look more like the photos of our grandparents. Gosh, how did they survive those uncomfortable, itchy garments? It would take a lifetime for me to get into and out of those costumes. But lovely and regal, yes.
This got me searching for old photos of my grandparents. The old photos are not in good shape, but I found one worth posting here. It is that of my maternal grandmother. I remember her visiting us in her
baro't saya and for the life of me, i don't understand how she managed to always look comfortable in that outfit!
A Little Bit of Trivia
During the Revolution (against the Spaniards), many of the local women hid revolutionary documents under their skirts, sewn into the hems. What an ingenious way of hiding secret files, don't you think? So while the male patriots met secretly
My Maternal Grandmother
I remember her wearing this "baro't saya" like an everyday attire. Somehow, they looked comfortable in those outfits. to plot the Revolution, many of these regally-dressed women paraded in and out of the house with secret files under their skirts. Amazing!
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The Travel Camel
Shane Dallas
You all look great - love those bright colours!