Filipino Fashion: A Blend of Tradition and Modernity

Categories: Fashion

Essay, Pages 3 (705 words)

Views

2598

Just when you believe that Filipinas do not understand how to strut on the catwalk, Filipinas do not just have the enthusiasm to wear designed clothes; Filipinas are natural fashionistas. Tracing its origins, Filipinos had actually long because been really ingenious and innovative in the type of clothes that they wear. The early settlers used bahag, a loincloth commonly utilized by Filipino males prior to the European colonizers got here. This is mostly utilized by native tribes in the mountains, and until now, is still used in the Cordilllera Mountain.

Don't use plagiarized sources. Get your custom essay on

“ Filipino Fashion: A Blend of Tradition and Modernity ”

Get custom paper

NEW! smart matching with writer

However this is not being looked down upon as a lowly garment as it is made from well-chosen materials, woven in complex designs that are unique with each individual wearing it. The Barong Tagalog and Baro’t Saya are the country’s national costume. The barong is made of a variety of fabrics like the piña fabric, jusi, and banana fabric. This is worn by men during official and special personal occasions.

Nowadays, the barong has now been modernized with the polo barong, “gusot-mayaman” (“gusot” means “wrinkled” and “mayaman” means “wealthy”), linen barongs and shirt-jack barongs. Barong Tagalog The baro’t saya is the national dress and is worn by women. This is characterized by having a huge pañuelo or shawl around the shoulders, and the terno, having the butterfly sleeves popularized by former First Lady Imelda Marcos. As the years passed, the influence of the West and the influence of the East on local fashion has made Filipino fashion an ecclectic one.

Some of the popular Filipino fashion designers we have today include Mich Dulce, Rafe Totengco, and Monique Lhuillier.

Philippine Literature: Prehistorical and Colonial

Philippine literature is the literature associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the colonial legacy of the Philippines. Most of the notable literature of the Philippines was written during the Spanish period and the first half of the 20th century in Spanish language. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, English, Tagalog, and/or other native Philippine languages.

Poetry and metrical romances
* Ladino Poems – Were natives of first Tagalog versifiers who saw print: highly literate in both Spanish and the vernacular. * Corridos – Were widely read during the Spanish period that filled the populace's need for entertainment as well as edifying reading matter in their leisure moments.

* Awit – like corridos, these were also widely read during the Spanish period as entertaining, edifying, reading manner in their leisure time. It is also a fabrication of the writers imagination although the characters and the setting may be European. The structure is rendered dodecasyllabic quatrains. Prose

The prose works of the Spanish Period consisted mostly of didatic pieces and translations of religious writings in foreign languages. Dramas
Religious drama
* The Panunuluyan– Literally, seeking entrance, the Tagalog version of the Mexican Las Posadas. Held on the eve of Christmas, it dramatizes Joseph's and Mary's search for Bethlehem. * Cenaculo – Was the dramatization of the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

* Salubong – An Easter play that dramatizes the meeting of the Risen Christ and His Mother. * Moriones – Refers to the participants dressed roman soldiers, their identities hidden behind colorful, sometimes grotesque, wooden masks. * The Santacruzan – Performed during the month of May which have the devotion for the Holy Cross. It depicts St. Elena's search for the cross on which Christ died. * Pangangaluwa – An interesting socio-religious practice on All Saint's Day which literally means for The Soul. Secular dramas

These were generally held during the nine nights of vigil and prayers after someone's death, on the first death anniversary when the family members put away their mourning clothes. * The Karagatan – comes from the legendary practice of testing the mettle of young men vying for a maiden's hand. The maiden's ring would be dropped into sea and whoever retrieves it would have the girl's hand in marriage.

* The Duplo – A forerunner of the balagtasan. The performances consist of two teams; One composed of young women called Dupleras or Belyakas; and the other, of young men calledDupleros or Belyakos. * The Comedia – It is about a courtly love between, a prince and a princess of different religions. It is about a Christian-Muslim relationship.