The barong tagalog, more commonly known simply as barong (and occasionally baro), is an embroidered long-sleeved formal shirt for men and a national dress of the Philippines. Barong tagalog combines elements from both the precolonial native Filipino and colonial Spanish clothing styles. It is traditionally made with sheer textiles (nipis) woven from piña or abacá; although in modern times, cheaper materials like organza silk, ramie or polyester are also used.
It is a common formal or semi-formal attire in Filipino culture, and is worn untucked over an undershirt with belted trousers and dress shoes. Baro't saya is the feminine equivalent of barong tagalog, with the Maria Clara gown being the formal variant of the latter. [1] Barong tagalog was also known as camisa fuera ("outer shirt") in Philippine Spanish. [2]
The term "barong tagalog" is usually shortened in modern Filipino to "barong". Grammatically, it contains the enclitic suffix -ng , which indicates that it is modified by or modifies the next word. The root word of barong is the Tagalog word baro, meaning "outfit" or "clothing". [3] [4] [5] The term is usually not capitalized. [6]
Though "barong tagalog" literally translates to "Tagalog outfit", the "tagalog" in the name does not mean that it was a form of dress exclusive to the Tagalog people, as opposed to other Philippine ethnic groups. Barong tagalog (and baro't saya) were worn universally among Christianized lowlanders throughout the Philippines in the Spanish colonial period. Rather, the name was coined to distinguish the dress as native (hence "tagalog", i.e. Indio ), as opposed to the styles of dress of Europeans and other foreign cultures. [7]
Barong tagalog is a formal shirt usually made of sheer lightweight but stiff fabric known as nipis (usually woven from piña or abacá fibers). When using sheer fabrics, it is worn over an undershirt known as the camisón or camiseta, which can have short or long sleeves. The term camisa de chino is also used for collar-less and cuff-less shirts, named after its resemblance to shirts worn by Chinese laborers. It is worn with belted trousers and dress shoes. Headgear, when worn, is either a salakot or a buntal hat (and historically also top hats or bowler hats). The ensemble mixes elements of both native and Spanish traditions. [8] [9] [10]
Barong tagalog can vary considerably in terms of design and material used, but they share common characteristics of having long sleeves, embroidery, being buttoned (halfway or straight down the chest), and the absence of pockets. They are also worn loosely and have slits on both sides. Historically, the material used for barong tagalog depended on the social class of the wearer and the formality of the occasion. Barong tagalog made of fine, sheer material like nipis were worn largely by the upper classes or were used for festive occasions; while barong tagalog made of cheaper opaque materials like cotton or sinamay were used by lower classes or for daily wear. The quality of the material and the intricacy of the embroidery were often signs of the status and wealth of the wearer. [7]
The embroidery of the barong tagalog are commonly placed on a rectangular section on the front of the chest (known as pechera, "shirt front", from Spanish pecho, "chest"), and/or over the entire shirt (sabog, from Tagalog for "scattered"). They feature various embroidery techniques, including calado and doble calado ("pierced" and "double-pierced", types of openwork drawn thread embroidery), encajes de bolilio (Venetian lace), and sombrado (shadow embroidery). They can also have other kinds of ornamentation, like alforza (pleats), suksuk (weft floats), and even hand-painted designs. [7] [10]
Occasionally feminized versions are worn by women, either as an egalitarian or haute couture fashion statement; or as a form of power dressing when worn by female politicians (such as Corazon Aquino during her presidency). [11] However, the direct female counterpart of the barong tagalog is the baro't saya (or more formal versions of it like the traje de mestiza and the terno), and both share the same precolonial origins. [12] [13]
The barong tagalog originated from Tagalog baro (literally "shirt" or "clothing", also known as barú or bayú in other Philippine languages), a simple collar-less shirt or jacket with close-fitting long sleeves worn by both men and women in most ethnic groups in the pre-colonial Philippines. These were made from rough linen-like cloth woven from native abacá fiber, or from imported fabrics woven from silk, cotton, and kapok, among others. [7] [14] Among Tagalog men, they were commonly paired with a rectangle of richly decorated cloth known as the salaual or salawal worn knee-length and drawn up in the middle (like an Indian dhoti or Thai and Cambodian sompot chong kben ); while in women they were paired with a wraparound skirt known as the tapis . [7] [4] [14] [3]
The baro usually extend to just slightly below the waist. However, in the Visayas, aside from similar baro (which had shorter sleeves) and salaual combinations, men also wore colorful robe-like and coat-like variants that could extend to well below the knees (known as the marlota and baquero in Spanish, respectively). These were sometimes belted at the waist. Among Tagalogs, red dyes and gold trimmings were indicative of being a member of nobility ( maginoo ) or the warrior caste ( maharlika ). [7] [15] The design of the original baro was influenced by trade and contact with neighboring regions, the most notable influence being the South Asian kurta. [16]
Early records of clothing in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era from the 16th to the 18th centuries were limited, thus the exact evolution of the precolonial baro to the modern barong tagalog can not be established with precision. Based on illustrations and written accounts, however, baro were still largely only worn by commoners during this period. They were mostly identical to precolonial baro and were made from opaque linen-like abacá textiles, and thus lacked the collars, buttons, and embroidery of later baro styles. The couturier Jose "Pitoy" Moreno has hypothesized that this transitional style of shirt was the camisa de chino of later centuries, which makes it a precursor to the barong tagalog. Depictions of members of the principalia upper classes (including natives and mestizos ) in the 18th century showed that they invariably wore European-style clothing. [7] [10]
The first baro precursor to gain favor among the local and mestizo elites was the barong mahaba (literally "long baro") which became prominent starting from the 1820s. These were much longer than the modern barong tagalog, reaching down to slightly above the knees. They were also commonly striped with bold colors like blue, red, or green. However, they already displayed hallmarks of the modern barong tagalog, including being made of sheer nipis material, embroidery, long sleeves, and a loose silhouette with slits on both sides. However, they lacked buttons. Early examples of barong mahaba usually had high-standing collars or even Elizabethan-style ruffs with narrow cravats. Barong mahaba were generally worn with colorful straight-cut trousers with stripes, checkers, or plaid-like patterns (generally made from imported cambaya, rayadillo, and guingón fabrics), top hats (sombrero de copa), and a type of embroidered velvet or leather slip-on shoes known as corchos. While barong mahaba were generally worn loose, they were sometimes fastened by silk strings through three openings around the waist, either over or under the shirt. The sheer fabric used by barong mahaba also necessitated the wearing of an undershirt, known as camisón or camiseta, which was also worn on its own by commoners. [7] [17]
By the 1840s, barong mahaba largely fell out of fashion. In this period, it evolved into the modern "classic" barong tagalog, being much shorter with less ostentatious folded collars, while still retaining the sheer fabric and other baro characteristics. They were also worn with smaller hats like bowler hats (sombrero hongo) or native buntal hats. They were initially paired with looser trousers, though they gradually assumed the dimensions of modern trousers by the end of the 19th century. The colors of the barong tagalog also became more muted and monochromatic, in contrast to the colorful barong mahaba ensembles of earlier decades. Barong tagalog ensembles from the mid-19th century onwards were usually combinations of black and white, blue and white, or all-white. Baro worn by commoners also favored darker colors like brown or blue, usually paired with white silk pants. [7]
This type of barong tagalog were common among government workers and businessmen, who usually wore them underneath jackets (chaqueta). Sheer baro were also worn by natives and mestizos for fiestas, leisure activities like dancing, or for church. However, western-style suits became more popular among students of the burgeoning ilustrado educated class. [7]
A notable variant of the barong tagalog during this period was the baro cerrada (literally "closed baro"). Its name is derived from its closed-neck collar. It was made from opaque material (which can be white or darker colors) and was paired with white pants. This style of baro remained popular up until the early 1900s. [7]
A commonly repeated but false belief is that the Spanish colonizers made the natives wear their barong tagalog with the shirt tails hanging out to distinguish them from the ruling class; its translucent fabric allegedly showing that the wearer was not concealing a weapon underneath. There are no historical records of this anytime from the 16th to the late 19th century. No regulations mandated the use of sheer material or banned the tucking in of men's shirts. Baro were always worn untucked, even in the precolonial period; and up until the 19th century, they were not made from translucent nipis fabric. [7] [4]
While the style and textiles worn by different classes did vary over the Spanish colonial period, this was due to fashion, wealth, and class distinction, rather than law. Most commoners throughout the colonial period wore baro made from cheaper and more durable opaque textiles, while expensive nipis fabrics were worn mostly by the upper classes. Natives (indios descended from precolonial nobility) and mestizos (both mestizos de Español and mestizos de sangley ) were also part of the aristocratic upper classes ( principalia ) and it wasn't restricted to Europeans. [7] [4]
Indios and mestizos, regardless of class, wore barong tagalog and European-style clothing depending on what they can afford and which were fashionable at the time. The wearing of barong tagalog did have racial connotations however, since most people of unmixed European descent (the insulares , criollos , and peninsulares ) retained their own dress styles and largely ignored native fashions. [7] [4]
The popularity of barong tagalog further waned during the American colonial period. It was replaced by suits (known as Americana in the Philippines) and tuxedos in most formal functions. In contrast, women persisted in wearing the native terno (a modernized and unified version of the baro't saya ), which was then associated with suffragists. Barro cerrada remained popular as informal leisure clothing, however. [7] [10] [4] [18]
A notable barong tagalog during this period was the "Commonwealth Barong Tagalog" worn by President Manuel L. Quezon, which featured embroidery of the flags of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the United States. However, other than this, Quezon mostly wore American-style formal wear and did not promote the barong tagalog. [10] [4] [18]
After the Philippines independence on July 4, 1946, Americana or a suit and tie continued to be the dominant formal wear, worn by presidents Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino. [10] In 1953, however, President Ramón Magsaysay won the election by being "a man of the masses". He deliberately wore a barong tagalog at his inauguration. The press played up the symbolism of Magsaysay in a barong tagalog and the outgoing Quirino in a western-style suit as symbolic of the "break" between the independent Philippines and its colonial past. He also wore barong tagalog in most public and private state functions. Magsaysay's use of the barong tagalog as formal attire was unprecedented in modern times. His example was followed by other Philippine presidents, and by the time of Diosdado Macapagal's term in the 1960s, it had regained its status as formal wear. Ferdinand Marcos, in particular, wore barong tagalog at almost every occasion. In 1975, Marcos issued a decree for the barong tagalog, along with the baro't saya, to become the official national attire. June 5 to 11 was also declared as the "Barong Tagalog Week". [10] [3] [4] [18]
Following Marcos' decree, barong tagalog became widely mandated as office wear for both employees of the government and private companies, as well as school uniforms. In the 1970s to the 1980s, companies like the Philippine Airlines, Ayala Corporation, and the Allied Bank were prescribing barong tagalog as their uniforms. Various semi-formal and informal versions of the barong tagalog developed during this period, including the short-sleeved polo barong and the linen barong. [10] In 1998, Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. mandated the wearing of barong tagalog for all employees of the Judiciary of the Philippines. [19]
While the barong tagalog was now regarded as formal wear, it did not gain popularity as a wedding attire for grooms in the early post-war Philippines. Most weddings featured a groom in a western suit and a bride in a terno. However, by the 1990s, the situations had reversed. Grooms now almost always wear barong tagalog, while women favored western-style bridal gowns. [10]
The finest barong tagalog are made from a variety of indigenous sheer fabrics (nipis). The most common traditional materials used are listed below. The fabrics used can also be composites of two different materials (like cotton and jusi or silk and piña ). Additionally, more informal barongs can also utilize common opaque textiles like cotton, linen, polyester, or ramie. [20] [21]
The term barong tagalog is almost exclusively used to refer to the formal version of the barong. Named variants of the barong tagalog include the following:
The barong tagalog is a possible precursor to the guayabera , a shirt popular in Latin American communities since the late 19th century. It may have been introduced first to Mexico via the Manila-Acapulco Galleons and were adapted to use local fabrics in the absence of piña or abacá. A variant of the guayabera traditionally worn in Yucatan is still called "filipina." [7] [32]
Abacá (Spanish), Musa textilis, is a species of banana endemic to the Philippines. The plant grows to 13–22 feet (4.0–6.7 m), and averages about 12 feet (3.7 m). The plant, also known as Manila hemp, has great economic importance, being harvested for its fiber, also called Manila hemp, extracted from the leaf-stems.
The kimono is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono is traditionally worn with a broad sash, called an obi, and is commonly worn with accessories such as zōri sandals and tabi socks.
Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concept of the American term pantyhose with sheer legs and opaque panty.
Madras is a lightweight cotton fabric with typically patterned texture and tartan design, used primarily for summer clothing such as pants, shorts, lungi, dresses, and jackets. The fabric takes its name from the former name of the city of Chennai in south India.
Pantyhose, sometimes also called sheer tights, are close-fitting legwear covering the wearer's body from the waist to the toes. Pantyhose first appeared on store shelves in 1959 for the advertisement of new design panties as a convenient alternative to stockings and/or control panties which, in turn, replaced girdles.
A sarong or a sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often employs woven plaid or checkered patterns or may be brightly colored by means of batik or ikat dyeing. Many modern sarongs have printed designs, often depicting animals or plants. Different types of sarongs are worn in different places in the world, notably the lungi in the Indian subcontinent and the izaar in the Arabian Peninsula.
The guayabera, also known as camisa de Yucatán, is a men's summer shirt, worn outside the trousers, distinguished by two columns of closely sewn pleats running the length of the front and back of the shirt. Typically made of linen, silk, or cotton, and appropriate for hot and/or humid weather, guayaberas are popular in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Southeast Asia, the south of Spain, and Portugal.
The malong is a traditional Filipino-Bangsamoro rectangular or tube-like wraparound skirt bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by both men and women of the numerous ethnic groups in the mainland Mindanao and parts of the Sulu Archipelago. They are wrapped around at waist or chest-height and secured by tucked ends, with belts of braided material or other pieces of cloth, or are knotted over one shoulder. They were traditionally hand-woven, with the patterns usually distinctive to a particular ethnic group. However, modern malong are usually machine-made or even imported, with patterns that mimic the traditional local designs.
Lumban, officially the Municipality of Lumban, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,330 people.
Piña is a traditional Philippine fiber made from the leaves of the pineapple plant. Pineapples are indigenous to South America but have been widely cultivated in the Philippines since the 17th century, and used for weaving lustrous lace-like luxury textiles known as nipis fabric. The name is derived from Spanish piña, meaning "pineapple".
See-through clothing is any garment of clothing made with lace, mesh or sheer fabric that allows the wearer's body or undergarments to be seen through its fabric. See-through fabrics were fashionable in Europe in the eighteenth century. There was a "sheer fashion trend" starting with designer clothing from 2008. See-through or sheer fabric, particularly in skintone colours, is sometimes called illusion, as in 'illusion bodice' due to giving the impression of exposed flesh, or a revealing ensemble.
Salakot is a traditional lightweight headgear from the Philippines commonly used for protection against the sun and rain. Variants occur among ethnic groups, but all are shaped like a dome or cone and can range in size from having very wide brims to being almost helmet-like. Made from various materials including bamboo, rattan, nito ferns, and bottle gourd, the salakot is held in place by an inner headband and a chinstrap. The tip of the crown commonly has a spiked or knobbed finial made of metal or wood. The salakot is the direct precursor to the pith helmet widely used by European military forces in the colonial era.
The baro’t saya or baro at saya is a traditional dress ensemble worn by women in the Philippines. It is a national dress of the Philippines and combines elements from both the precolonial native Filipino and colonial Spanish clothing styles. It traditionally consists of four parts: a blouse, a long skirt, a kerchief worn over the shoulders, and a short rectangular cloth worn over the skirt.
The Manila shawl is an embroidered silk shawl derived from the Philippine alampay or scarf. They were popular in the Philippines, Latin America, and Spain during the colonial era. It was also adopted and became popular in European fashions in the 19th century. In modern times, it is still an aspect of various traditional clothing in Hispanic cultures and is particularly prominent as part of the costume of flamenco dancers (bailaoras) and Gitana women.
The María Clara gown, historically known as the traje de mestiza during the Spanish colonial era, is a type of traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines. It is an aristocratic version of the baro't saya. It takes its name from María Clara, the mestiza protagonist of the novel Noli Me Tángere, penned in 1887 by Filipino nationalist José Rizal. It is traditionally made out of piña, the same material used for the barong tagalog.
The national costume of Indonesia is the national attire that represents the Republic of Indonesia. It is derived from Indonesian culture and Indonesian traditional textile traditions. Today the most widely recognized Indonesian national attires include batik and kebaya, although originally those attires mainly belong within the island of Java and Bali, most prominently within Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese culture. Since Java has been the political and population center of Indonesia, folk attire from the island has become elevated into national status.
The clothing style and fashion sense of the Philippines in the modern-day era have been influenced by the indigenous peoples, Chinese waves of immigration, the Spaniards, and the Americans, as evidenced by the chronology of events that occurred in Philippine history. At present, Filipinos conform their way of dressing based on classic fashion or prevailing fashion trends.
The pañuelo or alampay is a Filipino lace-like embroidered neck scarf or shawl worn around the shoulders over the camisa (blouse). They were square-shaped and were folded in half into a triangle when worn. Pañuelos are the direct predecessors of the Manila shawl. The Spanish word pañuelo means kerchief, scarf, and handkerchief.
The patadyong, is an indigenous Philippine rectangular or tube-like wraparound skirt worn by both men and women of the Visayas islands and the Sulu Archipelago, similar to the Malong, or Sarong. It was also historically worn in parts of Luzon like Pampanga and Sorsogon.
The buntal hat is a traditional lightweight straw hat from the Philippines made from very finely-woven fibers extracted from the petioles of buri palm leaves. It is traditionally worn by farmers working in the fields and was a major export of the Philippines in the first half of the 20th century. It can also be paired with semi-formal barong tagalog as well as informal attire. Its main centers of production are Baliwag, Bulacan, and (historically) Sariaya and Tayabas in Quezon Province. Buntal hats produced in Baliwag are also sometimes known as balibuntal hats, and are regarded as superior in quality to other types of buntal hats.