Some old illustrations and photos of Filipinas in traditional dress

The first four images are public-domain illustrations I found online. Each of them depicts a Filipino woman in traditional dress. I love them for their old-world charm and for the different faces of the Filipina that they show.

"India" = the Spanish term for a native Filipino woman

The captions says "India de Manila" but the woman in the illustration has Chinese features. The Filipino and Chinese people have traded and intermarried for generations, to the present day.

A Spanish mestisa

This one is captioned simply "La Mestisa." A Mestisa is a Filipino woman with mixed Spanish and native blood.

Here's a breakdown of the traditional Filipino woman's attire:

The following two photos are from my family's collection. The old lady in the first photo is one of the sisters of Jose Rizal, Narcisa, with my grandmother (her great-grand-daughter) in her lap.

My grandmother as a bride in 1954. Note that her wedding dress is still very much modelled along traditional lines, except that by this era, the baro and saya had merged into a dress.

Last photo: taken of a doll representing the Philippines as part of the Barbie Expo here in Montreal.