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Dress
dress
[dres]
noun
origin: 1275-1325
1. an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.
2. clothing; apparel; garb: The dress of the 18th century was colorful.
3. formal attire.
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Filipina Fashion Crazes
By: Charity Doyl
"They do not however on this account go naked, they wear well made collarless robes which
reach the ankles and are of cotton bordered with colors. When they are mourning, these robes are
white. They take off this robes in their houses, and in places where garments are unnecessary.
But everywhere and always they are very attentive to cover their persons with great care and
modesty. Wherein they are superior to other nations, especially to the Chinese." --- Father
Chirino - Relacion de las Islas Filipinas 1602.
I would like to point out a significant fact that a majority of Filipino's, as recorded from
15th century manuscripts, have always worn decent clothing even when their brothers and sisters
from other tribal groups proudly bared their assets. One of the earliest records of Philippine
fashions comes from the 16th century manuscript known as the Boxer Codex. 15th-century Filipinos
were described to wear stylish and lavishly beaded clothing from only the best and most expensive
materials available at that time.
In 1591, the Chinese merchants sold over 200,000 robes of cotton and silk up and down the
islands. This shopping spree caused such an alarm to the Spanish regime because chiefs and
slaves wore the same extravagant silk and lavishly beaded outfits, making it impossible to
judge their rank from their dress. Another concern was the exorbitant amount of money Filipinos
spent on their clothes, which the colonizers maintained should go to the Spanish treasury instead
of the pockets of the Chinese traders. His majesty the King of Spain, issued an ordinance
forbidding the Filipinos from purchasing garments sold by the Chinese and decreed they should
cultivate, weave and manufacture their own clothing.
The early 16th and 17th century costumes were chiefly an interesting mixture of Mohammedan and
Chinese with native elements. The pre-Spanish costumes styles gradually died out in the Filipino
towns before the end of the 17th century-although they persisted in the barrios and among the
country people until much later dates. The clothing restrictions imposed by Spain, brought about
the use of the starched pina and the finer forms of sinamay and jusi. The addition of
embroidery and appliqués as forms of ornament on clothing brought a delicate perfection to
later productions that is unsurpassed in quality to this present day.
For this article I will focus on the changes of Filipina fashion, particularly the Tagalog
region. The garments of the 16th century Filipina lady consist of a skirt and a camisa. The
skirt was made from either silk, cotton or abaca, while the camisa was made from pineapple
fiber and woven into the famous pina cloth. Both separate pieces were heavily embroidered.
During the 17th century the Filipino-Spanish mestisa used the dress similar to the European
ladies. Consisting of a short skirt, blouse, a hat with the addition of an apron or tapis and
a panuelo or baksa. This style however was not very popular and was only shortlived.
The baro for the men and panuelo and saya for the women became dominant during the early
18th century. The sarong or tapis was worn on top of the new saya - an interesting
assertion of native pride. The short wide skirt was introduced. The sleeves of the
camisa became longer and narrower, and were heavily gathered and pleated at the place where
they were joined to the body of the camisa.
The panuelo or kadenga was very small - it served like a loose collar around the neck. Many
believe this was a native touch deviating from the fancy neck ruffles used by European nobles.
Years later, the skirt became wider, but our venerable grandmothers decided to put a lining made
of coarse fiber cloth at the bottom of the skirt to make it very stiff. Embroidery was still
very much in vogue.
Sometime during the early 18th century. An aristocratic lady wore a house dress using a
skirt made of heavy lustrous silk of wide stripes and gray colors and topped with a
pina camisa. It was an instant favorite with other ladies such as the capitana or
wives of the cabeza de barangay or teniente del barrio but for special occasions the
addition of a soft beautiful large handkerchief with gorgeous designs was draped over the
neck and secured by a brooch. Last but not least, some trendsetting ladies not wanting to be
outdone by their European counterparts added a wide train at the back of their skirts which
was bursting bright with tropical reds, blues, greens, yellows and browns. This later paved
the way the ever popular Maria Clara Era.
Maria Clara was the demure heroine of Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere" she captured the beauty,
embodiment and charm of Filipinas during that time period.
Maria Clara - Maria Clara is the main female character in Jose Rizal's
Noli Me Tangere -a literary piece that features the colonial situation of the
Filipinos during the Spanish regime. She was characterized as a Filipina woman
of virtue and nobility. This dance is a mix of Spanish gracefulness and
customized native props, such as bamboo castanets and Asian fan. Female dancers
wear Maria Clara dress that typifies the European style, while men are in
barong tagalog, a traditional Filipino embroidered long-sleeve shirt made of
pineapple fiber.
The Maria Clara style is as follows: The skirt is made of liberty silk and the design was made
by the wearer. The camisa was embroidered with intricate patterns and designs; it had wide
sleeves and the folded panuelo worn close around the neck was a must. The bottom of
the skirt was lined with black ribbon or ruffles of the same material as the skirt. In the
beginning, this style involved a long train which made walking was difficult and so the train
was shortened. Then came the "La Paloma" style, patterned after the shape of a dove's
tail. After the La Paloma, the famous De cola was born and the train once again became longer.
The long trained skirt was again short lived and the style shifted back to a shortened skirt.
The waist was thickly gathered and the skirt was very wide and hung evenly on all sides. This
style is known as the La Maskota or the Balintawak costume.
The costume then transitioned into the La Campana - known for its short train and short skirt.
This style was supplanted by a more artistic one called the De Abanico or fan skirt. This
style features an ingenious insert of a different material shaped like a fan at the bottom
part of the skirt.
At the time the La Campana and, De Abanico was in vogue. The material of the camisa was changed
from the durable but heavy pina cloth to the more flimsy and airy jusi cloth. The most
elaborate camisa blouse was heavily embroidered with point or stuffed needlework. Patterns
were usually a big bunch of fruits, flowers, butterflies or monograms and arranged on the
front part of the sleeve. This was very popular among the rich ladies who can afford to purchase
the silk and materials needed for the work.
During the early 1900's came the Serpentina. The skirt was narrowed at the top but generously
wide at the bottom, which was lined with stiff cloth made of abaca fiber. The novelty of this
style was the bottom part was separate from the top. The beauty of this style was its circular
wide bottom ondulated in every step made by the wearer. The serpentina's camisa was made of
sinamay. This style also opened the door for the now popular terno – meaning the skirt and the
camisa match together either in color, design, material or embroidery. The panuelos at this time
were unusually big while the sleeves was made to stand stiff with an ingenious crease at the
upper part.
The Capa de Napoleon, was the next favorite trend. Its greatest innovation was the use of
Iloilo rengue cloth woven from a mixture of jusi and pina fibers. The reintroduction of this
cloth marked the arrival of the sinamay cloth. This material absorbed starch quite readily and
made the camisa's stand up nice and smooth. Sometime during 1913, the whims of fashion dictated
the wearing of the wide sash or paja around the waist. The sash was either of black silk cloth
or any other color to match the dress worn. Shortly after World War 1, a new style indicative of
the era was marked with the Zeppelin style skirt. The long train made it necessary for
the women to sling their trains over their arms, but it was too cumbersome and this style was
short lived.
The arrival of the Americans marked another change to the Filipino fashion industry. The sewing
machine was introduced and the endless possibilities of new stitches and use of different
colored threads came into full swing at a much faster pace. Although it could never replace
the old style workmanship predominant years ago it opened another doorway to the ever changing
Filipino fashion.
In the roaring twenties, technology became an integral part of Philippine society and gave birth
to a new breed of Filipina's- the working woman. They needed a dress that was feminine but
without the frills of a bygone era. At the same token they wanted to express their individuality
as a nation. They designed a dress appropriate for their home and work duties. A simple dress
emerged - it was a short slip worn in place of a camisa which reaches down a little bit
below the waist. The skirt was plain and simple. Later on it evolved again into a one piece
garment that is worn by most women from Luzon to Mindanao. It is a dress whose length varies
from below the knee or reaching past down the ankles. The material is made of cotton and comes
in an array of colors and patterns and is known as the duster or kimono.
In a nutshell this is the history of the Filipina fashion. They consciously resisted the
clothing sanctions imposed by their colonizers in the 15th century and wisely handled a
crisis meant to repress their resources, identity and creativity. They turned a situation meant
to belittle and demoralize them into an opportunity that fans the flames of national pride and
identity which burns brighter and stronger after each generation.
Source: The Beyer Ethnographic Series.
Charity Bagatsing-Doyl is the Publisher of Northwest Woman Magazine. Please visit her website:
http://www.northwestwoman.com
Pictures: The Philippine Saga – by Dr. Henry Otley Beyer and Jaime De Veyra
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