I found this photo on Old Philippines. First thought, how lovely! But what are they wearing???

I don’t believe those silly leaves covering the girls’ crotches are authentic. Filipinos have a rich history of fabric weaving. Other photos in the same album show the amazing tribal fashions of the time. Each tribe was known to the others for the patterns they wore. Another photo I posted years ago showed three girls wearing tapis around their hips. I imagine the colors and the patterns on those tapis were just as intricate as their headdresses.

Those leaves must be the photographer’s idea of depicting the “style prevalent in the days of Eve,” throwing a Judeo-Christian reference to the proverbial fig leaf of shame.

I love the girl on the left. She stands proudly, looks at the camera unabashedly. This is the Filipina image I like. Not the chaste Maria Clara in shapeless baro’t saya created by 500 years of Spanish colonization. I revere the malaya (liberated) people who wore their tribal dress and nudity with pride. Mabuhay!