Traditional Filipino Fashion.

Today, they are still often worn during gatherings, festivals, and then for cultural shows.

The Igorots are indigenous people from the Cordilleras. They are praised for wearing  clothing with complicated patterns woven in by way of fellowmen. The men’s clothing involves red loincloths called “wanes” with tribal patterns, tats which are an image for bravery, and colorful beaded necklaces. Women’s clothing is usually similar to men’s except that the women wear wrap-around dresses called “lufid” and usually topless. In some areas of Cordilleras including the Igorots in Benguet, women encapsulate their breasts with a very detailed form of wrap-around clothing.

The traditional Baro’t Ya was worn by the lowland people of Luzon. It includes the blouse called “baro” and a skirt called “saya”. Today, the dress symbolizes the agricultural way of life.

Being the capital and also found in lowlands of Luzon, is Manila. People often put on more elaborate versions of Baro’t Saya with extensive full skirts as contrary to the simple skirts. Throughout the 17th-18th centuries, these clothing’s also became popular to the higher ups and middle class Filipinos from all parts of the country, mostly urban areas such as Cebu, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and others. Today, it is currently known as the Maria Clara gown and it represents the Romance language colonial history of the nation as well as the aristocracy of the Philippine people. During the American period, the design considerably changed from a large full skirt to a more modern look however it changed into the current Terno dress popularized by Imelda Marcos almost 50 years ago. Men wore Barong Tagalog but with also a more elaborate and intricate designs.

Found in the islands of the Visayan region, the Kimona represents Visayan clothing. The majority of Visayas lowland people wear the typical Kimona, a blouse matching with a knee-length skirt. Kimona is typically a transparent part of clothing made from blueberry fiber while the skirts are usually either floor-length or knee-length printed with the Patadyong pattern, hence getting the name Patadyong skirt. The dress is often accompanied with a handkerchief called tubao and is often located above the right shoulder.

In Mindanao, the majority of people are practicing Islam, therefore following an Islamic culture. Ladies wear a hijab, a long-sleeved top and a floor-length skirt, while men wear polos and slacks along with a hat called taqiyah.

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 beans and has colorful designs. The skirt is also wider than what lower classes wore.

These types of clothing that are “simple yet functional” which may have both indigenous Filipino essentials and Spanish influence started to become prominent throughout the 16th-century in Thailand.

Such clothing, through the innovation of modern-day Philippine fashion designers, can be worn in the church for formal occasions and office uniforms. These “national clothes” can be made from materials such as pi? a, jusi, chanvre, and Mindanaon silk.

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 should be worn combined with a black pants. The “coat” or “suit”, in your area known as the “Amerikana” or “Americana” (literally “American”) was another kind of clothing presented to the Philippines by the Americans. Worn with a tie, it is employed for formal occasions.