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July 27th, 2009 by shallow

watching the state of the nation address briefly today made me think more about fashion than the actual state of our nation. loren legarda went backless for the second year in a row. pia cayetano had a severely modern bob over her stylish gown. i thought jamby madrigal’s baro’t saya was rather safe and audrey zubiri’s modernized version of the same style was my favorite.

i apologize for being socially unaware and for appearing callous. this is, after all, a very superficial blog. i don’t think i have the chops to pull off a political commentary.

anyway, so i was watching the sona on tv as i packed my belongings, preparing for our impending migration. and i was just overcome by a sharp feeling of melancholy. suddenly, filled with patriotic pride, i wanted to have another opportunity to wear the philippine terno.

i’ve worn the philippine terno only once in my adult life. only during the 2001 buwan ng wika in the school where i used to teach. it was a long dress that dragged on the floor and was the most electric of electric pinks you could ever lay your eyes on; it also had a wide panuelo in stripes of the same pink which i folded into a triangle to wear around my waist. it was a filipiniana costumeÂ my tita wore to japan as a national representative in the 80′s, so what can you expect from a dress that came straight from a decade of blinding colors? nonetheless, it was one of my most memorable outfits, it was stunning in a literally dizzying kind of way.

another chance i got to wear filipiniana, though not the terno, was on a regional awards ceremony we held for the company i used to work for. our region was then well known for taking costumes and themes very seriously, so we actually went out of our way to rent dresses for the event. for the memories alone, it was worth every penny.

trying on the dresses in the staff house on the night before the event. and just being silly.

photo op before entering the function hall

white philippine terno with corset-type bodice

yellow terno with ruched bodice and the traditional barong tagalog

baro't saya with panuelo

with our travel plans now coming together, i’m beginning to feel a premature homesickness growing in the pit of my stomach, which i’m afraid will hit me like a brick when we’ve actually flown off the ground. now i want another opportunity, another event that requires me to wear filipiniana, particularly the philippine terno. is that strange?

philippine terno and baro't saya designs by casa del shai. www.casadelshai.wordpress.com

filipiniana gown by edgar san diego

gown from mquin. www.mquinred.blogspot.com.

since i missed the chance to participate in santacruzan this year, is there someone out there who would like to invite me to a buwan ng wika celebration in school next month???

will you look at that... one of the dresses down the runway in the fw08 couture show of chanel. looks very like the terno.

one of the dresses in the fw08 couture show of chanel. looks very like the terno.

24 Responses

teeyah writes:
July 27th, 20093:25 pmat

Aw. It’s amazing how creative you are. While watching SONA, I thought of the terno also, but only because I saw GMA and I thought, I’ve never worn one You carry it well! Goodluck on the Buwan ng Wika and to your new life
filipiniana costumes of my life : Think Smart! writes:
July 28th, 20092:03 amat

[...] Original post: filipiniana costumes of my life [...]
shulace writes:
July 28th, 20096:48 amat

wow, funny you should post about this. My aunt and I just got through rummaging malls to find filipiniana dresses for an international assembly she and my sister are going to attend. My sister sent me the exact same picture you have posted above; http://www.casadelshai.wordpress.com, and said she wanted a dress like those. Anyways they ended up spending thousands for three lousy dresses whose inconspicuous patterns and loud colors came no where close the refine simplistic elegance of the “white philippine terno with corset-type bodice” dress. What a waste!
shallow writes:
July 28th, 20099:05 amat

thank you teeyah! i do hope i get to attend one haha
shallow writes:
July 28th, 20099:08 amat

hi shulace, they must have been extremely disappointed, i know how that feels. yes, that white terno was my favorite, too bad it didn’t come in my size haha… but i liked my blue baro’t saya too.
Clarisse writes:
July 28th, 20092:35 pmat

Hi! You should have a terno made before you leave!
shallow writes:
July 28th, 200911:41 pmat

you know, i’m seriously considering that! hahaha
shen writes:
July 29th, 20099:08 amat

its been a decade ssince i came close too wearing any filipiniana costumes. I wish now i have a reason to wear one… I’m liking the modern twist filipino ddesigners give to the traditional filipiana.
livingstain writes:
July 29th, 200910:46 amat

ang gaganda ng mga damit, tatak pinoy….

padaan lang po
shallow writes:
July 29th, 20091:22 pmat

they’re great aren’t they? our national costumes are fabulous.
teeyah writes:
August 1st, 200910:17 amat

Looking at the ternos in this post, I can’t help but feel a surge of pride. We do have one of the best national costumes in the world, yes?
shallow writes:
August 1st, 20094:15 pmat

absolutely!
Susan writes:
August 2nd, 20094:19 amat

Hi, Tich. Maybe I should get you as my proxy for the Dynamic Minds Barrio Fiesta this month since I don’t have a Filipino costume yet. Haha! But I must be getting old ’cause I don’t remember seeing you wear that costume to school before… :O
shallow writes:
August 2nd, 20098:12 amat

no, you’re not old. i taught for two years at southcrest, remember? that’s where i wore the costume, not in dynamics sure, cher susan! will you let me go to your barrio fiesta? i also intend to bring robyn to dynamics before i leave.
Susan writes:
August 5th, 200912:35 pmat

Oh, ya! I’d forgotten about Southcrest. Hehe. I’ll ask Teacher Stella if you can come do a “guest performance” for the kids in your Philippine terno. Hehe.
shaidelacroix writes:
August 15th, 20094:48 pmat

Hello, I designed the outfits above. Thank you for posting them. Sadly theyre concepts purely in my head and i havent met the right mananahi to do these gowns <3 much love from San Juan, Manila.

Shai Delacroix
shallow writes:
August 16th, 20096:24 amat

hi shai! they are gorgeous. i hope you don’t mind me posting them here. thank you for dropping by!
Mirasol Ng writes:
August 19th, 20102:19 amat

i will be representing our contry next week to Singpore i wonder if i can rent the clothes made by edgar san diego.. where can i have it? please get in touch ill be leaving the country on aug 25 for a general convention and leaders meet.. this time its great to show what philippine has.
shallow writes:
August 20th, 20101:33 amat

i don’t think this is the same sandiego. we rented ours from the sandiego dance troupe in cebu. edgar san diego’s contact details can be found in his website: http://edgarsandiego.com/contact_us.aspx
kikayz writes:
September 15th, 20105:30 pmat

good day! want to know if where i can borrow or rent a modern filipiniana dresses? i’m goin’ to use it on oct.4 2010 on my school final fashion show.
shallow writes:
September 16th, 20107:10 pmat

the ones i featured were from the sandiego dance troupe in cebu. i wouldn’t know where to rent any in other cities. i’m sure you can find something online.
glee anne writes:
May 18th, 20118:53 amat

hi po!! nag paparent po ba ikaw ng filipiniana????// need kasi.. please!
shallow writes:
May 19th, 201111:20 amat

i’m sorry, i don’t. if you are in cebu, look up sandiego.
Precious writes:
September 17th, 20118:50 amat

Nice ) tamanq tama . sa pinaq pipilian ko . for my UN dress .