Young Filipino boys by the river in the province of Negros
Popular among Pinoy boys back in the day are all-white ensembles. High-waisted pants, shirts tucked in by thin belts. The dashing boy on the right sports a medium brim Panama Style Hat or colonial style hat which is perfect for tropical weather. Filipinos usually associate such hats today with lolos or "grandpas". I'm glad that hats are fashionable again in the Philippines, thanks to Justin Timberlake, you can walk around Manila and not get stared down for your fashionable head gear.
Swimwear are usually shorts and white sando.
Photo Inscription:
To Miss Calabutan,
Hope you won't forget your Senior Students.
Your student, M. De La Torre H.H. Bacaug, Negros Oriental
Inscription on the back of the photo is washed out, the only readable info is the date taken - January 12, 1940, and the name it is addressed to - Lelang.
Her 1940s dress has a tight bust line and curved standing collar. There's the puff sleeves with 2 inch cuffs, floral embroidery embellishes the bodice and waistline area and the skirt is a pleated A-line. Skirt length is just inches below the knee. She is also wearing leatherette open-toe shoes with self-tie closure.
For a 1940s studio portrait, her dress looks very utilitarian yet modern. Her face is more on the Chinese side than Malay.
A studio portrait of two little Filipina girls in black stockings. Most likely sisters. Large white bows accessorize their hair curled for the occassion. They are wearing pointy pennyloafers with one inch heels.
Viva Filipinas is a repository of vintage photos about life in the Philippines. Some of the photos date back as early as the 1890s, further spanning two World Wars and various eras.
These fotos lasted this long for a reason. Well-kept and loved by their owners, and then lost in some event, fate reclaims their worth and they end up online.
With posterity and history at its side, these fotos have their own special kind of value- they show us the old life, a documentation of the Filipino through the ages.