Barong tagalog

upright|thumb|Barong tagalog made from [[piña fibers from the National Museum of the Philippines]]

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. Barong tagalog was also known as camisa fuera ("outer shirt") in Philippine Spanish.

Etymology

The term "barong tagalog" is usually shortened in modern Filipino to "barong". Though this is grammatically incorrect, since "barong" contains the enclitic suffix -ng, which indicates that it is modified by or modifies the next word. The correct root word of barong is the Tagalog word baro, meaning "outfit" or "clothing", but this is rarely used.

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.

Description

thumb|upright|Barong tagalog worn with a [[salakot. The woman is wearing a terno.]]

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 undershirts, 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.

thumb|left|upright|Dancers in barong tagalog (with a [[buntal hat) and traje de mestiza performing Jota Cagayana]]

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. 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.

History

Pre-colonial era

thumb|upright|[[Tagalog people|Tagalog maginoo (nobility) wearing baro and tapis in the Boxer Codex ()]]

The barong tagalog originated from the baro (Tagalog for "shirt" or "clothing", with cognates like barú, badu, bado, or bayú in other Philippine languages; and baju in Malaysia and Indonesia), a simple collar-less shirt, tunic, 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. The design of the original baro was influenced by trade and contact with neighboring regions. These influences include the Malay and Javanese baju, and the South Asian kurta.

Among Tagalog men, the baro were commonly paired with loose trousers known as salawal (also spelled salaual) or a rectangular wraparound cloth known as tapis. The salawal were loose knee-length or shin-length trousers adapted from the Persian sirwal (probably via Malays).

The baro usually extend to just slightly below the waist. However, in the Visayas, aside from similar shirts or tunics (known as badu,

Spanish colonial era

upright|thumb|A [[Visayans|Visayan water seller in an early barong tagalog () by Damián Domingo]]

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,

upright|left|thumb|Barong mahaba with a [[Ruff (clothing)|ruff collar depicted in El Mestiso by Justiniano Asuncion ()]]

The first barong tagalog 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.

American colonial era

thumb|upright|[[Emilio Aguinaldo, in a baro cerrada, with his son (1906)]]

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.

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.

Piña – a traditional sheer fabric hand-woven from pineapple leaf fibers. It has a fine lustrous silk-like texture and has a natural yellowish tinge. It is the most expensive and highly prized material for barong tagalog, due to its manufacturing difficulty, quality, and rarity. It is characterized by fibers of uneven thickness which gives the fabric the appearance of having streaks.
Piña seda – a traditional fabric created by interweaving piña and silk (seda) fibers. It is usually less expensive than barong tagalog made purely from piña, but is more expensive than other types of material. It is characterized by piña fibers on the transverse weft, and silk fibers on the longitudinal warp. It is a lighter yellow color than barong tagalog made from piña.
Piña jusi – similar to piña seda, it interweaves piña fibers with jusi fibers. It is less expensive than pure piña, but is more expensive than pure jusi.
Pinukpok - a traditional rough and opaque fabric made from abaca fibers. It is primarily a product of the Bicol Region.
Organza – a modern mechanically woven fabric made from silk or polyester from China. It has a polished and even texture, although it can be regarded as being too shiny. It is the cheapest material used for formal barong tagalog. Today, the name is also applied to formal opaque barong tagalog with conventional cuts made from the same abacá material.

Modern

Pierre Cardin barong tagalog is a distinctive type of modern formal barong tagalog popularized by dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It was created by fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier of Pierre Cardin. It featured elements of fashion in the 1970s, including a tapering close-fitting cut, rigid oversized point collars (often characterized as an "Elvis Presley collar") and cuffs, and flared sleeves. It was also worn with flared pants.
Polo barong refers to a short-sleeved version of the barong, often made with linen, ramie or cotton. This is the least formal version of the barong and is frequently used as men's office wear (akin to the Western suit and tie). It can be worn tucked or untucked.
Shirt-jack barong are cut in shirt-jacket style, with a characteristic wide hem band at the bottom edge of the shirt. It is worn untucked. It is usually made of polyester-cotton, linen-cotton and the typical gusót-mayaman fabrics. Popularised by politicians wearing this style during campaigns or field assignments, it gives the wearer a look that is somewhere between casual and dressed-up. This type of shirt is, however, considered inappropriate for very formal occasions such as weddings.

Relation to the guayabera

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."

Gallery

File:Spanish mestizo costume.jpg|Mestizos in the Philippines in barong tagalog and baro't saya by Jean Mallat de Bassilan ()

File:El Cundiman by José Honorato Lozano.jpg|El Cundiman by José Honorato Lozano (c.1847), showing dancers in colorful striped barong tagalog and baro't saya

File:Shirt MET 83.50.1 CP4.jpg|Striped barong tagalog made from piña in the Metropolitan Museum of Art ()

File:Shirt MET 83.50.1 detail CP4.jpg|Detail of the calado embroidery on the pechera of a piña barong tagalog (c.1850)

File:Governor Vilma Santos-Recto.jpg|Vilma Santos in a feminized version of the barong tagalog

File:Barong Tagalog.JPG|A barong tagalog placed against the light, showing the translucency of the fabric

File:Philippine culture dance.jpg|Baro't saya and barong tagalog worn by dancers of Cariñosa

File:Barong Tagalog.jpg|Modern jusi barong tagalog with a band collar

File:Ravenet-Mestizos.jpg|Barong tagalog worn under a European-style coat ()

File:Un Indio Noble de Manila DamianDomingo.jpg|Barong tagalog under a coat with a neckerchief (). Note the trousers.

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