Mood:  a-ok

The barong, the Filipino alternative to the coat-and-tie, was originally a workingman’s garb, usually made of abaca fiber.  Its origin is traced to the kanggan, the short-sleeved collarless jacket Filipinos wore in pre-Hispanic times.  It is said that during the Spanish period, the barong was worn to set the indios or natives, apart from the Spaniards.  Another story claims that Spanish authorities made the natives wear the barong because it was difficult to conceal weapons under the sheer fabric.  And why no pocket.  Because the poor indio had no money or personal knickknacks to tuck away.