Filipino Clothing: Our Own Way of Saying We’re Filipinos
Different countries have different style in terms of fashion. They tend to wear clothes that originated from their own Country to show respect. In our Country, we know that we have our unique type of clothing that makes us different from others. Well, that was before we discovered other countries design. We thought that theirs was better since they have more colorful dresses and suits that could really satisfy our eyes from all the colorful fabrics that they show off with their designs. So we tried to copy them for us to look more modern and civilized. But why copy others when we have our own?
Before, our ancestors would wear "barong tagalog" for the gentlemen, and "baro’t saya" for the women. They never felt ashamed on wearing these attires while dealing with the other colonizers that ruled our country. They’ll be proud of who or what they are. But what about now? Do flipinos still wear what our ancestors wear during the days they were fighting for our country’s freedom? Will they still be proud of being called a filipino when wearing these kind of attire? Well it could be a "no", since we’ve already been intoduced to new fashion. We’ll think that it’ll be much better if we wear a more casual clothing in front of many people. That way, we won’t feel embarrassed on how we look since these kind of clothing are some sort of trending in our society right now.
If Filipinos would wear the old clothing in this time, will the others still appreciate them? What I mean is when they wear it for everyday use. Won’t the others laugh at them when they walk on the streets? Will no one talk behind their backs on wearing such clothes. I guess the only people who wear these kinds of clothing are the politicians since they maybe are required to do so. And it’s pretty normal for others to see. Before, anyone can wear these. Rich and poor have their own unique style, but can still be identified as Filipinos. In our time, we have our own Filipino style, "The other country’s style". We sure like copying stuff, why shouldn’t we just start having our own designs again? Something that will tell others who we really are.
In other parts of our country, we can still see that some of our countrymen still embraced our own culture of dressing up, like in some native areas. They want to preserve their culture by wearing such native clothes with colorful designs and patterns made only in our beloved Country.
We Filipinos have our most famous material used for weaving unique and wonderful clothes. The "abaca". A substance abundant in our country. We can say that it’s good to be used for weaving beautiful clothes. But right now, we might need to be more original on crafting them for us to standout for our own and as Filipinos. Our clothing material is one of a kind making us unique. But since we started importing "abaca" to other countries, they have surpassed us having the best material in the Philippines with them, and a skill of designing really wonderful clothes better than ours, so we don’t stand much against them.
The fashion trend from before was way different than our fashion taste right now, but that doesn't mean we should totally forget about our way of clothing before. I'm not saying that we should wear our traditional attire for everyday use just to acknowledge others that we are proud of our own clothing. Just appreciate what our countrymen have done for us to have our own unique designs for our unique country.
Credits for images (links):
http://nationalclothing.org/asia/34-philippines/48-traditional-clothing-in-the-philippines-barong-tagalog-baro-at-saya.html
http://filamcultural.com/june09/cultural/