Is this a barong Tagalog? is the fabric banana or pineapple?

zannew

zannew

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This is similar to the large bib-like item I found last week at an estate sale. This was at the same sale. The fabric feels the same. Can anyone give me some info. about it and perhaps a date range? Thanks so much!

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But, would you say it is some kind of exotic fabric like those? Or, a silk organdy? Also, any idea of the age if this? A lot of the other items I found there were from the 60s. Do you think this could be from that time period?
 
I have two of these & they are definitely from the Philippines. Mine were in storage for a long time & finally shattered. They are some type of natural fiber but I don't think they are silk, although the burn test suggested silk. I have been saving them for the appliqués, hoping to repurpose them.
 
Now this piece looks like a barong! I have a picture og my father wearing something very similar from the 1970's! Vey cool!
 
This is definitely a barong tagalog and it is typically made from pina, jusi or banana fabric. Pina, in my opinion, is the most fine, as it is hand-loomed from pineapple fibers. Time range...I'd place it at late 70's early 80's. The vintage barong tagalogs made in the 70's have more interesting cuts than the ones they make nowadays. Historically, they were made see-through so that Filipinos could not conceal weapons from the Spanish during the Spanish colonial period. Their Spanish influence explains why these are often confused with guayaberas.
 
I thought it was a guayabera too, thanks for clarifying that Ibonlaya.
 
This is definitely a barong Tagalog. The fabric is Jusi...probably from the 70's if not 60's. Blue embroidery was common in this decade and the netting embroidery is called "calado" - a painstaking hand craft done by counting, cutting, and stitching threads to create a delicate netting in between floral motifs (generally done in Iloilo, Taal, or Bulacan)
 
My personal experience with Pina cloth is that is is very very silky, but does not "feel" like silk when you run your fingers over it. Very fine and light. I rarely see any of it these days. It takes a very long time and a lot of human effort to make just 1 yard of it, so most of it was used for special garments for weddings or special occasions, as it is very expensive.

I might guess that your shirt is more likely to be silk or some other fiber. I cannot be sure from a photo, but it does not look like pina cloth to me. It is a bit denser than pina.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
My personal experience with Pina cloth is that is is very very silky, but does not "feel" like silk when you run your fingers over it. Very fine and light. I rarely see any of it these days. It takes a very long time and a lot of human effort to make just 1 yard of it, so most of it was used for special garments for weddings or special occasions, as it is very expensive.

I might guess that your shirt is more likely to be silk or some other fiber. I cannot be sure from a photo, but it does not look like pina cloth to me. It is a bit denser than pina.
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So if it feels like silk it is likely silk not pina?
 
Cin,

I wish I could answer your question, but much like color, "feel" can be subjective. The way something feels to one person may vary from another. I just know what something feels like to me after handling so many types of fabrics and fibers over the decades. What is" silky" to one person, may not feel like silk to me. I can only say that if you have even handled pina cloth you just know it has its very own feel to the fingers and to the eye when held to the light. It has a silky feel but has less resistance to the finger tip than silk does.

The workmanship of the garment can be a clue also, as pina would not be used for mass marketed, exported or tourist items sold in the shops. Look for made-to-order garments, and one of kind garments made with expert tailoring and hand stitches, hand finished buttonholes, etc. I might expect a pina garment to have hand embroidery vs. sewn on appliques or machine embroidery, for example.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
Cin,

I wish I could answer your question, but much like color, "feel" can be subjective. The way something feels to one person may vary from another. I just know what something feels like to me after handling so many types of fabrics and fibers over the decades. What is" silky" to one person, may not feel like silk to me. I can only say that if you have even handled pina cloth you just know it has its very own feel to the fingers and to the eye when held to the light. It has a silky feel but has less resistance to the finger tip than silk does.

The workmanship of the garment can be a clue also, as pina would not be used for mass marketed, exported or tourist items sold in the shops. Look for made-to-order garments, and one of kind garments made with expert tailoring and hand stitches, hand finished buttonholes, etc. I might expect a pina garment to have hand embroidery vs. sewn on appliques or machine embroidery, for example.
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Interesting and food for fodder. Thank you for that information.
 
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