*** The Philippines chronological clothing styles








Philippines Boys Clothing: Chronological Trends

Philippines clothing chronology
Figure 1.--Here we see the Western influence in the casual clothing worn by modern Filipino boys, including short-sleeved shirts, pants and shoes and flip-flops. Many boys wear flip-flops to make their feet comfortable and to avoid sweat.

Philippines clothing styles have varied substantially over time. A Filipina (this is the Tagalog spelling and there's no English one) reader tells us that clothing styles have been affected by the Spanish which ruled the islands for three centuries. Traditional clothing for boys was baro and for girls saya. America which seized the Philippines from Spain (1898) also influenced fashion. The Japanese which occupied the country (1942-45) during World war II had less influence. The Philippines became independent after the War (1946). Our Filipina reader writes, "Currently we wear what Americans wear. But I have to admit I believe that we are more modest than the Americans because we are more concious about how much skin we show, due to our religion. Also the climate is very warm and sometimes very rainy, we wear what suits the climate.

Pre-colonial Era ( -1521)

The Philippines had strong trading partners with other countries in Asia like China, Japan, India, Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Siam. As a trading center, pre-colonial Filipinos were influenced based on the sharing of knowledge from neighbor-countries. There was no Filipoio state at the time, but mamy diverse peoles and tribal entities. This mean many varied tribal styles. We have very little infirmation on this period, but because triabal groups persisted during the Spanish era and even the American Commonwealth, we have some insights. There were also relgious influence, much of the south was Islamicized like what is now Indonesia to the south.

Spanish Empire (1521-1898)

The Spanish goverened the Philippines for three centuries. They thus had a major influence on Philippines culture and clothing. Traditional clothing was baro and saya. The baro is the top (blouse) and the bottom is the saya or skirt. The Spaniards made the native Filipinos who they called indios (Indians) to wear barongs untucked to distinguish them from the ruling class. An advantage for the Spanish was that when the natives wore baros, it could be easily determinefd whether the wearer was bearing a weapon or not. The baro evolved into the barong tagalog, commonly called just barong or even just baro. It became a formal shirt, but only since the 1940s an indepebdence, the national dress of the Philippines. In Spanish times, dress for the elite was much more formal. The barong is a lightweight shirt and worn untucked over an undershirt. It is similar to the Guayabera worn in the Spanish cultural areas of the caribbean, Central America and the northern Andes. There were some Filipinos, mostly villagers, who wore shirts that buttoned at the collar. They were called camisa de chino (Chinese shirts) which of course was adopted from Chinese clothing. The everyday clothing worn by Filipino boys into the early-20th century was very similar to compesino (peon) clothing of Latin America, again reflecting their common Hispanic heritage. We have very little chronological informtion about the Spanish colonial era. We are not sure just when compesino-style clothing became widespread, but believe it negan in the 19th century. We do nothink it could have been before the Industrial Revolution made possible the manufcture of low-cost cotton textiles. The one decade we know about is the 1890s. This is because of tghe Spanish-American War and the arrival of the Americans (1898-99). Suddenly with the arrival of the Americans we have a very substantial photographic record.

American Commonwealth (1898-1946)

Clothing during the Spanish era was similar to Latin Amrica, basically white compesino clohing for th Filipinos and more European stylses for the urban elite. Then in the more remote areas there was still tribal clothing. The United States seized the Philippines fron Spain during the Spanish American War (1898-99) and created a commonwealth. Tribal styles gradually disappeared as the economy expanded, but in many years left and enduring impact. This began to change with the coming of the Americans and the develooment of a more modern economy. This all developed slowly. Economic development had a substantial affect on clothing because as the population increasingly entered the monied economy, they bought more Western style clothing of course adjusted for the warm tropical climate. One Filipino source tells us that, "When the Americans came, Filipinos including the boys were taught how to wear the right and proper attire. During that time, all boys and men were wearing white polo shirt, white coat and white pants symbolizing good grooming and cleanliness." We are not entirely sure what that meant. Here the American efforts to create a comprehensived public school system was a factor. The only other Asian country with a public school system at the time was Japan. We see some styles similar to Latin America styles like the Guayabera shirt. The Filipino version is the barong or Barong Tagalog. It is today considered to be the national dress shirt of the Philippines, more worn by adults than boys. While a casual styles, it is mostly be worn on formal occasions. The Japanese briefly occupied the Philippines during the Pacifiic War (1941-45). As far as we know, thy had no influence on clothing, excepot the shortages of food and clothing that develophed during their occupation and management of the economy. After the War the Unites States as planned before the War granted independence (1946). Economic growth was slow, but stady and Filipinpos as in Europe adopted generic Western styles also influenced by the climate and lower income levels than in America and Europe.

Independence (1946- )

Most Filipino men and boys wear barongs with collar in attending formal occasions and coined a name Barong Tagalog to differentiate from the similar but not identuical Guayabera. Because of the strong Western influence, Filipinos wear casual attire in attending the Sunday Mass and other casual occasions. Our Filipina reader writes, "Currently we wear what Americans wear. But I have to admit I believe that we are more modest than the Americans because we are more concious about how much skin we show, due to our religion. Also the climate is very warm and sometimes very rainy, we wear what suits the climate. Despite the American connection, the Philippines was not one of the Asian Tigers which mean that the economy did not grow rapidly after indeoendence. This inevitably affected clothing and fashion.







HBC






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Created: 11:15 PM 6/10/2007
Last updated: 5:21 PM 5/15/2021