As a business venture, Barong Filipino’s achievements, compared with those of many other companies that have made it big in manufacture and retail, are, at best, modest. But success shouldn’t be measured only by material gains. Greater praise is due to those who attained success through sheer grit—those who helped themselves and the people who depended on them. Industry, passion for one’s work, determination and, most important, the love that attended every step of the struggle, are what Barong Filipino has had a lot of. And they are the values this book wishes to share.
Barong Filipino’s founder had humble beginnings. Probinsiyana, tindera sa palengke, salesgirl at a Cubao department store, she rose to where she is now on her own steam. She’s still a nobody, she insists. True, she doesn’t figure on the list of top names in the nation’s business community. But no self-effacing could deny her worth as a self-made person. And she’d like to tell many other “ordinary” people out there that they too can make it. That it’s great to be who you are. It’s great to be Filipino.
EN Barong Filipino, Inc. is a family-owned enterprise established in 1961 in Quezon City. For more than 50 years, it has built a reputation for creating high-quality men’s apparel and for distinguishing itself among makers of the Barong Tagalog. In devoting meticulous attention and respect to the national attire, Barong Filipino has elevated the design and creation of the barong to an art form.
Moreover, by ensuring continued supply and distribution of its products through popular outlets, Barong Filipino has also made its line of formal, office, and casual wear very accessible to a growing market nationwide.
Starting out as a barong supplier to SM Department Stores, Barong Filipino was invited in 1991 to retail its own products in two of the chain’s major malls – SM Megamall and SM City North Edsa. Today, Barong Filipino’s brand is present in over 30 SM malls throughout the country. Tradition and innovation – these values take shape in every product that is designed and crafted under the Barong Filipino brand.
While paying homage to the proud national history that gave birth to such a delicate and distinctive attire, the company continues to find new expressions that keep the barong fresh, current, and unique. The barong, though intertwined with the national identity, is not confined to the past. For Barong Filipino, it is always evolving, keeping pace with every generation of leaders who wear it with pride.
The Barong Tagalog is the upper garment worn on formal occasions by Filipino men (though Filipino women have long impinged on this exclusiveness). Etymologically, barong derives from baro, the Tagalog word for male or female clothing
The Barong Tagalog is the upper garment worn on formal occasions by Filipino men (though Filipino women have long impinged on this exclusiveness). Etymologically, barong derives from baro, the Tagalog word for male or female clothing
Moreover, by ensuring continued supply and distribution of its products through popular outlets, Barong Filipino has also made its line of formal, office, and casual wear very accessible to a growing market nationwide.
Moreover, by ensuring continued supply and distribution of its products through popular outlets, Barong Filipino has also made its line of formal, office, and casual wear very accessible to a growing market nationwide.
Moreover, by ensuring continued supply and distribution of its products through popular outlets, Barong Filipino has also made its line of formal, office, and casual wear very accessible to a growing market nationwide.