“Like her mother[‘s…her eyes were] large and black, beneath long lashes; gay andsmiling when she played, sad and soulful and pensive when she was not laughing.Since childhood her hair had an almost golden hue; her nose, of a correct profile,was neither sharp nor flat; her mouth reminded one of her mother’s, small andperfect, with two beautiful dimples on her cheeks. Her skin had the fine texture ofan onion layer, the whiteness of cotton…" ㅡ Jośe Rizal, Touch Me Not
Maria Clara is one of the major characters in Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not), one of the most celebrated novels by 19th century Filipino nationalist Jośe Rizal. In the novel, Maria Clara is the only daughter of Capitán Tiago, a rich Filipino landowner during the Spanish colonial occupation of the Philippines. Maria Clara’s beautiful appearance is emphasized several times throughout the novel, as is her kind and pleasant personality. As Noli Me Tángere grew in popularity to become a representative nationalist novel in the Philippines, Maria Clara came to be seen as the model of a “beautiful and elegant Filipina woman.”
The Maria Clara gown, a traditional dress worn by Filipina women, takes its name from the character in Rizal’s novel. The garment is also known today as the Mestiza Dress because it combines the fashion of Spanish women, introduced during the colonial period, with the baro’t saya, the national dress of the Philippines. Maria Clara herself was also a mestiza character.
The baro’t saya, a key component in the Maria Clara gown, comes from the Tagalog words baro at saya, meaning “blouse and skirt.” As its name implies, the baro’t saya consists of an ensemble with a longㅡsleeve blouse top and a wide, fullㅡlength skirt. The top is airy to suit the tropical climate, made of pineapple fiber and weaved in the traditional style of the Philippines. The saya is produced in various styles, colors, and lengths, with the most traditionally popular variations among Filipina women purportedly being black and white or black and red.
Two additional pieces of clothing are added to the baro’t saya to form the Maria Clara gown: a panuelo kerchief and a tapis overskirt. The panuelo reflects the influence of Spain and is a hallmark of the Maria Clara gown: a wide, stiff, triangular scarf that covers the wearer’s back and neck. It is worn over the baro like a shawl, and both ends are fixed with a brooch at the wearerxed with aThe larger the panuelo, the fancier the appearance of the gown. Meanwhile, the tapis is worn over the saya like an apron, hiding the seam of the skirt and the lower body of the wearer.
The influence of the Maria Clara gown, which was considered enormously fashionable by Filipina women during the Spanish colonial era, can be seen in pictures and photos by Philippine artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. La Bulaqueña, an oil painting by Filipino artist and activist Juan Novicio Luna, shows a woman in a typical Maria Clara gown. The painting, housed today in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila, depicts the garment’s wide, wingㅡlike sleeves, and the posh panuelo adds an elegant touch. Another example of the gown, this time on a middleㅡaged woman, is found in a painting in the Philippine Folklife Museum. The woman’s dress recalls portraits of Medieval Europe, and the contrast of the neat white blouse and black skirt convey fanciness while the rosary emphasizes Catholic female chastity.
While the Philippines were occupied by Spain, the Maria Clara gown was worn by mestiza and upper class women as a symbol of status. But when the United States colonized the country, the dress began to be considered less as fashion and more as “traditional” clothing. Today, Filipina women often wear the Maria Clara gown for official events or as a wedding dress. A Filipina representative in the Miss International pageant also once wore the Maria Clara gown in competition.
Imelda Marcos, wife of former President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, was known for her penchant for modernized Maria Clara gowns. She wore one of these dresses to every national diplomatic event at which she appeared. It is said that her gowns were customized, made with a combination of pineapple fiber and topㅡclass silk. Perhaps because of her influence, the more casual and modern version of the Maria Clara gown, which is more convenient to wear, has won fame today as a national costume of the Philippines.
Although the Maria Clara gown originates from the historic colonization of the Philippines by Spain, it has evolved into one of the most beloved traditional pieces of apparel among Filipina women. It can be said that this tradition grew out of the respect of the people of the Philippines toward Jośe Rizal and admiration for his famous character Maria Clara.
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