Reclaiming and Modernizing the Terno is Not Just For Filipino Elites

By Katie Barnett

Around the world, there is traditional garb that encompasses the culture and history of the people. Japan has Kimonos, India has the Sari, and there are many other iconic fashion pieces. In the Philippines, there is the Terno. 

Under Spanish occupation, there was a wide spread of influence and especially on people’s fashion in the 1800s. The Spanish introduced the “dress of the mestiza '' and it was everyday wear for women’s fashion. This dress wasn’t actually one singular dress. But there is a multiplicity of layers that make up this look. The “dress of the mestiza was made up of a blouse (camisa) with puffy bell sleeves, (panuelo) a piece that was rectangular that would drape around the shoulders, a long skirt (saya), and other light multicolored fabric that went over the saya (tapis). 

Three working-class women are shown wearing the dress of the mestiza and carrying full baskets. In the photo, the women are shown with different layers of the dress. (Fashionable Filipinas)

When American occupation came in the late 1800- early 1900s there then came an evolution to the “dress of the mestiza” and evolved into what people come to know as the “Terno”. What this means is that the style of the stiff Edwardian skirt has a more relaxed fitting. The sleeves then also were pleated and started to stand up more on the shoulders. Women again would wear this anytime even working in the middle of the day.  Then in the mid 1900s there was a shift into a fashion statement. The separation of garments was obsolete and it was one fabric to create a more European silhouette. Then the sleeves fully evolved into the more iconic “butterfly wings” that stood up 3 inches on the shoulders and were rounded out. This time it shifted the power away from everyday workers to people that wanted to be fashionable in the day and especially in the evening times.  

Four women in the 1960s wearing a new evolved version of the Terno. It was one singular dress with butterfly sleeves that were pinned up and defined. 

Photo: prep.ph

In the late 1900s, the Terno became synonymous with Imelda Marcos. Imelda made the Terno have even more of an elite connotation. The Terno was only worn on special occasions like balls or other limited parties. Under the Marcos rule Imelda used any public gathering to show off a new Terno. She was friends with high end designers that created and hand-beaded her dresses. She made a stock pile of elegant gowns that were paraded during her family’s rule. After her huband’s regime ended the dress’ reputation was tainted. The Marcos’ regime was the Philippines dark age and the family was synoyonus with corruption and terror. All of the deep history was forgotten and replaced with her corruption. After her rule desginers strsyed away from designing the Terno. 

Then the Filipinx people shifted and tried to deem it the national dress. But with this resurgence people would view the Terno only as costumes but this caused problems within the Filipinx community. The debate was that the Terno shouldn’t just be reduced to a costume because it should be viewed as more than just dress up. The sentiment was that the Filipinx people aren’t dressing up as Filipinx. They are Filipinx. 

[Nolisoli] The models and the evolution of the Terno dress from 1920s-2010s. With the last model poses the question: what will be the next modification of the Terno in the upcoming years?

Now, designers and people are reclaiming this traditional dress as a way to take back pieces of the preelitist and, pre-Marcos connotation, but give power to the people through fashion. There are even fashion events like TernoCon and it's in its third year where designers can apply to compete with their Terno designs. In this convention there is also a shift into what the modern day Terno dress looks like. There are many variations of the butterfly sleeves on different dress silhouettes that arne’t considered traditional.  

Designers also have to go through formal history lessons on the deep history of the dress. In events like TernoCon, it negates that Imdeia Marcos was the sole model and elitist ideology around the dress. Now that we have these fashion designers reclaiming this dress for the people, will it again be tainted with the Marcos regime? This time Fernand Marcos' son is president and has a wife coming into power. Will it regress and serve only the elite or will the dress’ new adaptations be a reminder of evolving Filipinx people?