They can also have other kinds of ornamentation, like alforza (pleats), suksuk ( weft floats), and even hand-painted designs. They feature various embroidery techniques, including calado and doble calado ('pierced' and 'double-pierced', types of openwork drawn thread embroidery), encajes de bolilio ( Venetian lace), and sombrado (shadow embroidery).

The embroidery of the barong tagalog are commonly placed on a rectangular section on the front of the chest (known as pechera, 'shirt front', from Spanish pecho, 'chest'), and/or over the entire shirt ( sabog, from Tagalog for 'scattered'). The quality of the material and the intricacy of the embroidery were often signs of the status and wealth of the wearer. Barong tagalog made of fine, sheer material like nipis were worn largely by the upper classes or were used for festive occasions while barong tagalog made of cheaper opaque materials like cotton or sinamay were used by lower classes or for daily wear. Historically, the material used for barong tagalog depended on the social class of the wearer and the formality of the occasion. They are also worn loosely and have slits on both sides. Description ĭancers in barong tagalog (with a buntal hat) and traje de mestiza performing Jota Cagayanaīarong tagalog can vary considerably in terms of design and material used, but they share common characteristics of having long sleeves, embroidery, being buttoned (halfway or straight down the chest), and the absence of pockets.

Indio), as opposed to the styles of dress of Europeans and other foreign cultures. Rather, the name was coined to distinguish the dress as native (hence 'tagalog', i.e. Barong tagalog (and baro't saya) were worn universally among Christianized lowlanders throughout the Philippines in the Spanish colonial period. Though 'barong tagalog' literally translates to ' Tagalog outfit', the 'tagalog' in the name does not mean that it was a form of dress exclusive to the Tagalog people, as opposed to other Philippine ethnic groups. The root word of barong is the Tagalog word baro, meaning 'outfit' or 'clothing'. It contains the enclitic suffix -ng which indicates that it is modified by or modifies the next word. The term 'barong tagalog' is usually shortened in modern Filipino to 'barong'.

Velvet cloaks and capes