Maria Clara gown

The María Clara gown, historically known as the traje de mestiza during the Spanish colonial era,[1][2] is a type of traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines.

The correct term for the sleeves of the camisa during the mid to late 1800s is a "pagoda" – derived from early Western silhouettes of the Victorian period.

[10] The pañuelo is a piece of starched square cloth (either opaque or made from the same material as of the camisa) folded several times and placed over the shoulders.

The purpose of the pañuelo has been related to modesty, used to cover the nape and the upper body due to the camisa's low neckline as well as its sheer translucency; and also doubles as an accent piece because of embellishments added to it, usually embroideries and the pin securing it in place.

Tapis designs may be plain, and is usually made of opaque fabrics such as muslin and the madras cloth, and also is used for the purposes of modesty as it keeps the lower body from showing due to the thinness of the saya.

[3] It is derived from the identically-named tapis, the original indigenous wraparound skirt of women in the Philippines, which is a rectangle of brightly-colored cloth woven from abaca fibers.

By the 1920s the term referred to a dress consisting of a matching "camisa" with butterfly sleeves, a heavily starched "pañuelo" (fichu), a "saya" (skirt) which normally came with a "cola" (train), and a "sobrefalda" (overskirt).

[15] During July 8, 2008, State of the Nation Address of Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, she wore a "modernized María Clara gown".