Sunday, March 6, 2011
Bagong Barong
A quip between me and another Filipino the other day spurred me to redesign the traditional Filipino barong tagalog, a sheer, oversized man's shirt usually made of pineapple or banana fibers, for women. There have been many versions of the barong throughout the years but I could never recall people wearing it as a casual dress statement. Back in the 90s, I used to wear the linen and ramie versions favored by teachers and office workers as casual wear with chinos and sandals here in New York, a subversion that might be seen as sartorial heresy back in Manila (somewhat akin to wearing a tux jacket with jeans). But Filipino women rarely used it instead preferring the rather overt statement of the terno, with its almost costumey butterfly sleeves. So I thought it might be fun to redesign the barong as a flirty woman's top. These are a few initial ideas.
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6 comments:
Hmmm very interesting. I'm quite tempted to have a polo barong brought to me from Manila, to wear around the city in the summer..
With a wife beater and skinny jeans or slacks!
I was thinking loose trousers and (the illusion of) nothing under!
Problem is you risk looking shapeless...
Oh I've seen double-loose done well before, and there are ways to pull it off. With a nip in the waist or fitted shoulders, it can still look sharp!
True... even in Geller's SS 2011 show there were aspects of loose on loose fits, as long as the waist was cinched properly...
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