I found this item in the very rear portion inside my Grandfather’s closet. It’s very significant to me because my Grandfather brought it with him from his home country (the Philippines) to America and it’s called a Barong Tagalog (also known as “Barong”). A Barong is an embroidered men’s long sleeve formal shirt and a national formal attire of the Philippines. The Barong attire style was created by the pre colonial native Filipinos. The colonial Spanish clothing is dated back to the late 16th century during the Spanish colonization of the Philippine Islands. The old folk tale says that, during the Spanish colonization, the Spaniards would insist that the Filipinos wear see-through material style shirts so that they would not conceal any weapons. The Barong fabric is made from the natural island resource commodity of pineapple piña or banana abaca fibers. If you would examine the fabric closely you would notice that the fibers and intertwined very finely, Extracting the delicate pineapple fibers is labor intensive and because of this, strenuous process makes this pineapple fabric a bit expensive. Also incorporated in the Barong are embroidered glory patterns, with hints of a story behind the craftsman’s hand patterns which usually is a creative poetry signifying strength, wisdom and honor. This particular Barong was made back in 1963. To date, the Filipinos usually wear a Barong to formal occasions such as weddings, important gatherings, as well as, official international government diplomatic visits and meetings. 
 #Family #Barong #Clothing #Philippines #Attire

– NE

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant