Philippine Traditional Costumes to High Fashion Couture

by Leo Improgo Tan III

VOLUTION a nine letter word that makes us look back into tha past and

see the beauty of the present. Each country had always been known for its tradition and fashion style. In our own way, we have shown how we transform our resources into beautiful woven clothing which we would always be proud of. Now that we are adapting to the new era of fashion. Varsity jacket generation, skinned tight jeans, vintage dresses and trendy emerald green look are what Filipinos wear nowadays. You can only see people wear indigenous fabric when they attend formal events, Filipino week celebrations, cultural shows, and worst, only during the ever colourful Flores de Mayo. Lets dig deep to the beauty of our own cultural costumes and patronize our very Filipino fashion sense. Long before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, the Tagalog people on Luzon Island already wore a dress that can be seen as the origin of the barong Tagalog. The dress reached slightly below the waist, was colorless and had an opening in the front. A legend persists that the Spaniards made Filipinos wear their barong untucked to distinguish them from the ruling class. Supposedly, the native Filipinos were also prohibited from tucking in their shirts, which served to designate their low rank as well as to distinguish them from the people of mixed descent, the mestizaje, and the islanders, or insulares This is only a legend, as Filipinos already wore untucked shirts in the pre-Hispanic times.The use of thin, translucent fabric developed naturally given the heat and humidity of the philippines. Historians, likewise, have noted the absence of a citation to the specific law in which the Spaniards supposedly prohibited the natives from tucking in their shirts According to ABS-CBN interactive during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Sydney, Australia, a press release from the organizing committee described the barong Tagalog, the Filipino's national costume for men, as a "peasant shirt". The Philippine Government called for clarifications regarding the description.

The barong tagalong we have is not merely a plain clothing but a symbolism of our nationality as well, and Filipinos had always been the brave and pure persons who would stand for what we think is right like how that clothing stand in front of many, its beautiful fabric, high fashioned collar and sleeves. From a long historical background and from the simple plain white pia woven clothing, barong tagalong has been recently customized by various fashion designers to high fashioned couture by putting on decorative details such as hand-embroided designs which shows the Philippines trademark of a beautiful sunrise behind the two mountains with the green luscious rice field, pinpricks (alforza) and lace inserts or appliqus. The newly customized barongs comes in many colors and some are embedded with gold beads either embedded with golden swirl designs. Barong tagalong can also be worn by Filipina in the new generation, sleeves are opened high and were like bubbles. They also come in two tone colored barongs. Women also have their own traditional dress which is aptly named the Maria Clara. The Maria Clara gown is a traditional gown worn by women in the Philippines. This Filipino dress takes its name from Mara Clara, the mestiza protagonist of the national epic, Noli Me Tangere, penned in 1890 by our national hero Jos Rizal. The dress has been connected to the Maria Clara character because of her traits: delicate, feminine, self-assured, and with a sense of identity. The Maria Clara outfit is the only Philippine national attire that is named after a literary figure. The Maria Clara Gown,circa.1986 is an attire composed of four pieces, namely the camisa, the saya, the pauelo (a scarf, also spelled panuelo), and the tapis. The camisa is a collarless chemise whose hem is at the waist, and is made from flimsy, translucent fabrics such as pineapple fiber and jusi. The sleeves of the camisa are similar to the so-called "angel wings", or shaped like bells that have cuffs. Quite fitting to the woman who wants to portray a demure and feminine image.The pauelo is a stiff covering for the neck, which acts as an accent piece because of embellishments added to it. The pauelo is related to modesty and it used to cover the low-necked camisa'. The saya is a skirt shaped like a bubble with a length that begins from the waist reaching the floor. These are usually comprised either of single or double sheets of fabric, called "panels" or dos panos. In spite of the complicated look of the four piece gown, it serves as a trademark of purity and femininity on the Filipino culture. The formal gown comes out and evolves into a party couture. The modern Maria Clara is considered as meztisa or terno. The structure of the dress remains but more accessories are embedded on the skirt. Beads, dried insects, roots and other indigenous materials are woven in the butterfly sleeves as well. Various fashion

designers had transformed this demure outfit into high fashion couture. The whole-body dress transformed into a cocktail dress embedded with dyed indigenous materials. From butterfly winged sleeves to halter styled tops with a blend of huge ribbons. It even has splits in skirt with an intermingle of painted designs or imagery of the beautiful sunrise embedded with corn seeds and other Philippine products. The evolution of these traditional costumes proves that Filipinos have always been creative in their own fashion sense. This show the use of natural resources we have through artistic designs painted or embedded on the clothing. National figure of simplicity to high fashion couture that embellished cultural ensemble that was enticing and captivating to the hearts and eyes of the Filipino.