JUDE D.

DE GUZMAN BSN-1

Fashion and clothing in the Philippines

"COSTUMES"

Fashion and Clothing in the Philippinesrefers to the way the peoples of Filipino

society dress up in instances such as while they are at home, while at work, while

travelling, and when attending special occasions.

Apart from "colonial influences" and "media influence", the Filipino style of clothing had
been dictated by the climate in the Philippines. With a tropical climate (dry and rainy
seasons), early Filipinos - as well as the still extant tribal groups in the Philippines -
wear colorful woven clothes, often with "intricate beadwork" and other ornaments.

Pre-Spanish Philippines were the canga and the bahag. The canga is a type of a

collarless shirt - which later became adorned with laces, trimmings, buttons, and a collar
- was where from the Barong Tagalog evolved. On the other hand, the bahag was a

type of loincloth or G-string.

Present-day Filipinos, due to climatic reasons, prefer to wear T-shirts combined

with maong (jeans) trousers for men and skirts for women. The "jeans and T-shirts"

combination was introduced to the Filipinos by the Americans.[1]

A common attire while at home are ordinary puruntongs (singular: puruntong, a type of

pair of shorts or Capri pants) combined with sleeveless shirts or T-shirts. During the

rainy season and cold evenings in December and January, some Filipinos wear hooded

jackets

Evolution of Philippine Fashion

Archaic epoch (c.900 A.D. - 16th century)
The Filipino style of clothing had been dictated by the tropical climate in the
Philippines, with a dry and rainy season. Early Filipinos - as well as the still extant tribal
groups in the Philippines - wore colorful woven clothes, often with "intricate beadwork"
and other ornaments.
Spanish Era: New Spain (1521 – 1799)
Throughout the 16th century up to the 18th century, women wore a Hispanicized
version of theBaro’t saya, composed of a bodice - called a camisa, often made in
pineapple fiber or muslin - and a floor length skirt, while the men wore theBarong
Tagalog, a collared and buttoned lace shirt or a suit.

The women wore this kind of fashion even when the Spanish Regime was finally
overthrown and was replaced by the First Philippine Republic. Today, this type of
clothing is now called as the ‘’’Maria Clara’’’ dress, named after the character of Maria
Clara from Dr. Jose Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangerewhom became a symbol of the
traditional Filipino woman, which known as being modest, elegant and conservative.

American Era (1900s – 1920s)

The women now wore the ‘’’Traje de Mestiza’’’, the more modern version of
the Maria Clara. It has now bigger sleeves and a narrower floor length skirt with a long
train called saya de cola replaced the full wide skirt reflecting the Edwardian Fashion to
the west.

Men wore the "Americana" the suit and coat worn in the West, mostly Americans
(hence getting the name), replacing the traditional Barong Tagalog.

Commonwealth Era and Second World War (1930s – 1940s)

1930- The ‘’’Traje de Mestiza"’ is still popular to the people through the 1930s.
Men’s fashion remained the same as they continued to wear the "Americana" suit.

1940- The ‘’terno’’ gradually disappeared and stopped being manufactured. Only
the older people wear their old ‘’terno’’ dresses. Clothing boutiques only sold
monochromatic dresses, mostly in dark tones

1950s- women started to wear colorful dresses and with floral prints. The style

was inspired by Christian Dior’s ‘’New Look’’ collection, characterized by a below-mid-

calf length, full-skirt, pointed bust, small waist, and rounded shoulder line. Summer and

Day dresses became popular, as well as the pencil skirts and cardigans.

Men’s fashion changed slightly as the men started wearing youthful clothing such

as sweaters, colorful printed polos, pants and flannels. ‘’Chinos’’ became popular as

well as white tee shirt, tartan plaids. The drape cut suits remained popular.
 1960s- A new kind of dress invented by Mary Quant, called the miniskirt, mini
dresses started to become popular and mod style fashions also emerged.
Men's fashion is continued to a more youthful vibe as they started wearing polos
and pants, replacing the suit and coats. Suits and Coats were only worn during events
and by the older men as well as the Barong Tagalog.

2000s- the concept of innerwear as an outerwearwas popularized resulting to having

spaghetti strap clothes become popular in the mainstream. Men still followed the 1990s

fashion with hip-hop inspired of clothing wearing cargo pants, oversized T-shirts.

By the mid 2000s, colorful clothes began to rise again. Men started wearing flannel and

checkered polos. At the end of the decade, people saw the mixture of clothing from

uggboots worn with short shorts and t-shirts to dresses worn over with leggings.
2010s- women became interested to the fashions in 1960s and began replicating
those styles. Men also began wearing preppy clothes inspired by the British boy
band One Direction who rose to fame in 2010. Skinny jeans proved to be popular
among the men and came up with different colors as well as the shorts.

Traditional Clothing by Regions

Cordilleras

Igorot Ethnic Outfit

The Igorots are indigenous people from the Cordilleras. They are known for wearing a

piece of clothing with intricate patterns woven by their own fellowmen. The men's

clothing consists of red loincloth called "wanes" with tribal patterns, tattoos which is a

symbol for bravery, and colorful bead necklaces. Women's clothing are usually similar to

men's except that the women wear wrap-around skirt or called "lufid" and usually

topless. In some parts of Cordilleras such as the Igorots in Benguet, women wrap their

breasts with a very detailed wrap-around clothing.

Luzon

Baro't Saya

The traditional Baro't Saya was worn by the lowland people in whole of Luzon. It

includes the blouse called "baro" and a skirt called "saya". Today, the dress represents

the rural life in the Philippines

Manila

Maria Clara Dress

Being the capital and also located in lowland are of Luzon, Manila people often wore
more elaborate version of Baro't Saya with wide full skirts rather than the simple skirt.

Throughout the 17th-18th century, these clothings also became popular to the upper

and middle class Filipinos from other parts of the country, mostly urban areas such as

Cebu, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and many more. Today, it is now known as the Maria

Clara gown and it represents the Spanish colonial history of the country as well as the

aristocracy of the Filipino people. During the American period, the design drastically

changed from a wide full skirt to a more modern look and then again changed into the

current Filipiniana popularized by Imelda Marcos in the 1960s. Men wore Barong

Tagalog but with also a more elaborate and intricate designs.

Visayas

Kimona and Patadyong

In the islands of the Visayas regions, the Kimona represents Visayan clothing. Most

Visayas lowland people wear the typical Kimona, a blouse matching with a knee-length

skirt. Kimona is typically a transparent piece of clothing made of pineapple fiber while

the skirt is usually either floor-length or knee-length printed with the Patadyong pattern,
hence getting the namePatadyong skirt. The dress is often accompanied with a

handkerchief calledtubao and is often placed above the right shoulder.

Mindanao

In Mindanao, majority of the people are practicing Islam, therefore following the Islamic

culture. Women wear a hijab, a long-sleeved top and a floor-length skirt, while men

wear polos and pants together with a hat calledtaqiyah.

Women's Clothing

Baro't Saya (literally "Shirt and Skirt") is the Filipino style of Women's clothing.

Traditionally, it is composed of a blouse and a long skirt with a "panuelo". The upper

class women wore more elaborate baro't saya sewn with beads and has colorful

designs. The skirt is also wider than what lower classes wore.

Men's Clothing

Barong Tagalog is a clothing worn by the Men. Originated in Luzon, this clothing is

made of pineapple fiber and is actually transparent, an undershirt has to be worn

together with a black pants. The "coat" or "suit", locally known as the "Amerikana" or

"Americana" (literally "American") was another type of clothing introduced to the

Philippines by the Americans. Worn with a tie, it is used for formal occasions.

Filipino brands

Philippine brand clothing that are popular in the Philippines include

Onesimus,

Penshoppe,

Loalde,

Kamiseta (literally "T-shirt"),

Maldita

Bayo