Dressed: Filipino

Mabuhay

Back in January, I attended a birthday party which had an attire theme of traditional Filipino. Outfits were decorated in florals and some in prints. With modernisation and constantly evolving styles, we don't often see traditional wear and so when people do wear clothes representing their culture, I find it to be somewhat 'refreshing'. I like fashion prints and styles inspired by culture, as it gives a look that extra something. It was really nice to see all the traditional outfits, both men and women, along with the children!  Actually, the guests' outfits had more of a modern twist to them.

I'm always proud of my roots and being able to finally wear something that's from the Philippines and seeing everyone together with their traditional formal attire, made it quite a special event. I like to sometimes wear looks that are different to the normal LBD and the like, so I was looking forward to wearing my outfit, despite the fact that the attires at the event wouldn't be the normal attires I am used to in a lot of parties in the UK. For my look, I wore a two piece set consisting of a long wrap-around skirt and matching top. The design is simple, yet the the gold-coloured stripes on it gives it an edge and makes it that bit more unique. I was finally able to use bag that was gifted to me which perfectly fitted the vibe I was going for. For shoes, I wore a pair of simple ankle strap heels. Thinking about it, my entire outfit consisted of items all bought from the Philippines.

My sister wore a purple filipiniana dress featuring distinctive large shoulders. The material is usually barong, but her's was a different sort of material. The embroidery on it were flowers and butterflies.

My mother had her outfit custom designed, fitted and made in the Philippines. It was interesting to see the consultation, by a very enthusiastic designer if I must add, and I saw dresses for different occasions being decorated by hand. Some of the dresses on display featured a lot of beads and so I can only imagine how much patience the people involved with them dresses had! Hand-sewn and hand-painted florals - the details were beautifully done. The material is made of barong. 

My father donned a long-sleeved tagalog barong with grey embroidery. Simple, yet looks suave.

Barong, meaning 'outfit' is a traditional formal wear worn in the Philippines. For females, the most notable features are the hand embroidery and the large shoulders. And as for males, it is long-sleeved and they tend to wear a vest-shirt underneath.
The fabric for it can be: Piña, Jusi or Banana fabric.

Piña - from pineapple leaf fibres; the making is now expensive and used for very formal events.
Jusi - used to be made from abacá (a type of banana native to the Philippines) or banana silk, but is now mechanically woven.
Banana - from banana fibre; originally from the Visayan island of Negros.

The venue was decorated somewhat like the usual function, but the centre pieces on the tables had these cute little lamps that flickered as if there were tea lights in them. The front stage was decorated in a sort of 'bahay-kubo-style'. It looked pretty good.

Filippino Desserts.

Of course with Filipino parties, there was a programme filled with speeches and performaces. For sure, there was a buffet-style meal and desserts. Oh, we do love to eat. We toasted the birthday celebrant with champagne, followed by taking even more pictures (if the amount we had already taken wasn't enough), then danced the night away.

Much love
- NichEuve