OVER the past week, the parade and display of intricate as well as modern Filipiniana dresses have become a staple in our social media feeds. With the mass inauguration and oath-taking ceremonies of elected officials happening here and there, we are treated to a spectacle of breathtaking national costumes made by local designers in the country.
I don't know if it's just me but there is a feeling of elegance and aristocracy whenever one wears a Filipiniana gown. From the classic to the contemporary designs of the national dress, anyone wearing a good-looking "terno" will always be a symbol of our Filipino culture and heritage.
According to Tatler Asia, the Filipiniana dress or terno came from the popular "Maria Clara" gown and is "a traditional dress that its puffy butterfly sleeves can identify, plain blouse (baro or camisa), long skirt (saya), and a pañuelo (a square of cloth used as a head covering or worn as a scarf around the neck) worn over the shoulders." The "terno" came from the Spanish colonial period and is said to highlight the women's expected demeanor to be modest and refined. The "Maria Clara" gown as we know it is meant to cover most of the woman's body, covering the upper body down down to the toes of the women in the olden times.
While the wearing of the Filipiniana terno spread the country in the 17th century and promoted the use of starched pina and finer forms of sinamay and jusi, (silk), the women in the 18th century adopted foreign styles and added hats and the "panuelo" which looks like an apron or a "tapis."
The modern Filipiniana gown that we usually know nowadays has been a product of the "Serpentina" version where the top part is narrow and fits the body while the lower part is "generously wide." As the years passed and with many foreign influences being incorporated in the dress, the Filipiniana dress with its famous butterly sleeves has become a symbol of Filipina beauty and identity.