t the turn of the last century, a patriotic aspect of the Filipino costume was shaping up, and the mainspring of this trend was the upsurge of nationalism.

The fight for Filipino sovereignty, caught as it was in the revolution against Spain, and then Spanish, American War, germinated a national consciousness, which was, perhaps unconsciously, reflected in clothing.

Modernization, introduced during the subsequent American occupation of the Philippines, helped crystallize an updated national look in dress, at the very same time that the arrival of fashion fads and trends were diminishing it.

During and shortly after the fin de siecle, the modernization of the Filipino costume was signaled by ensemble called "Maria Clara" and its successor, the traje de mestiza.

 Both forms transcended the inevitable popularization of western fashion, which was then becoming a major industry following the introduction of ready-made clothes, and the rise of the garment retail trade.

           These "new" local styles were but trendy guises of folk wear, proof that the indigenous is tenacious: costume is custom and exists as a cultural imperative.

  This is a quirk of democracy, the principal American legacy: that the Filipino national costume would hold its own despite the westernization of everything else. But then again, in the democratization of dressing - where clothing is a free form of expression - the national costume became an emblematic expression of national identity.