Fashion and clothing in the Philippines

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La Bulaqueña painting by Juan Luna depicting a woman wearing a traditional Filipino clothing.
Maria Clara gown

Fashion and Clothing in the Philippines refers 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.

Evolution[edit]

A sample of men's clothing from Mindanao during the late 19th century or early 20th century.

The clothing style and fashion sense of the Filipinos in the modern-day era has been influenced by their native ancestors, the Spaniards (the Philippines was a colony of the Spanish Empire for around 300 years), the Americans (the Philippines was a territory of the United States for about 50 years), and even the Japanese (Japanese soldiers occupied the Philippines during World War II), as evidenced by the chronology of events that occurred in Philippine history.[1] At present, Filipinos conform their way of dressing, in addition to the above factors, as a result of the influence of what is shown by the media on television, cinema, and fashion shows, among others.[1]

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. Other native clothing, during 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.[2]

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.[1]

Traditional Clothing by Regions[edit]

Ethnic Clothing are worn by the members of different ethnic tribes around the country before the Spanish colonized the islands. Today, they are still often worn during gatherings, festivals, and for cultural shows.

Cordilleras[edit]

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.

Central and Southern Luzon[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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.

Mindanao[edit]

In Mindanao, majority of the people are practicing Islam, therefore following the Islamic culture. The women wear hijab, long-sleeved top and floor length skirts while men wear polos and pants.

Women's Clothing[edit]

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.

These types of clothing that are "simple yet functional" that have both indigenous Filipino qualities and Spanish influence started to become prominent during the 16th-century in the Philippines.[2]

Such clothing, through the innovation of modern-day Filipino fashion designers, can be worn in the Philippines for formal occasions and office uniforms. These "national clothes" can be made from materials such as piña, jusi, abaca, and Mindanao silk.[1]

Men's Clothing[edit]

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.[1]

Fashion designers[edit]

Notable Filipino fashion designers include Pitoy Moreno (the "Fashion Czar in Asia"), Inno Sotto, Rajo Laurel, Beatriz Tesoro, Christian Espiritu, Auggie Cordero and Monique Lhuillier. Moreno was known to design and create dresses for Philippine First Ladies, other famous women in the Philippines, Asia, the United States and Europe.[1]

Popular brands[edit]

Bench, a Filipino clothing brand.

Filipino brands[edit]

Philippine brand clothing that are popular in the Philippines include Onesimus, Penshoppe, Loalde, Kamiseta (literally "T-shirt"), Maldita and Bayo.[1]

International brands[edit]

Signature brands from abroad that are popular in the Philippines include Giordano, Levi's, Nike, The Gap, Banana Republic and Guess.[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Filipino Clothing and Various Influences". Filipino-Heritage.com. Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  2. ^ a b trolleygirl. "History of Philippine Fashion". StudyMode. Retrieved 14 December 2013. 

External links[edit]