Barong

I was invited to a wedding of a good friend of Aimee's recently and I had to decide if I wanted to wear a western-style suit (IE: jacket, pants, tie) or a Filipino-style suit called the barong. I opted to wear the western-style suit but I have worn the barong on two occasions in the past. The photos attached to this blog were taken on Aimee and my wedding day. Before you see me looking stylish in my barong here's a brief introduction of what a barong actually is.

A barong is an embroidered formal garment here in the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn untucked, similar to a coat/dress shirt. It is a common wedding and formal attire for Filipino men.

Most barongs are made of piña cloth or jusi fabric. Piña cloth is made from fiber from pineapple leaves. Jusi fabric was once made from abaca or banana silk but, since the 1960s, it has been replaced by imported silk organza. Jusi is mechanically woven and stronger than the piña cloth, which is hand loomed and more delicate. However, piña cloth is more expensive than jusi and is thus used for very formal events.

The barong I wore for my wedding was made of piña cloth.

Okay, now for the photos:

I personally like these three photos since they document the step by step procedure for putting the barong on. Also I like the paparazzi aspect of these photos.



Okay, off with the sun glasses, it's time to get barong-styling!

Ah yes, sweet sweet cool piña cloth. My barong-styling is almost there. Just one more step...


Sun glasses back on, yes, we're styling now!


My four fans here know I'm looking classy in my barong. Look, even the one second from me has his thumbs up!

After attending the recent wedding wearing a western-style suit I understand the logic of Filipino formal wear being made of out light fabric in a style that's easy to put on and take off. A suit consisting of pants, shirt, jacket and tie is a terrible combination for a tropical country. It's hard to look classy when you're sweating constantly in the heat. The barong, on the other hand, is comfortable and cooler in the heat. On our wedding day my brother and dad wore the barong as well.