Portrait of a Filipina Lady - Standing

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.

Portrait of a Filipina

A very poised Binibini (young lady) sitting like a queen on a rattan wicker throne. The long train from her dress is sprawled to one side; her shoes stepping on the fur of a dead animal. Her eyes towards the lens, her lips almost a half-smile like the Mona Lisa herself.

There's a handwriting scribbled at the back of the photo, the portrait was taken as a memento for her sister who lives far away.

My grandma told me that getting your portrait done back in the day meant saving up for it, spending that amount of money in the province and traveling for hours to reach the Kapitolyo required much planning. It was an anticipated event especially for young women. This was a step up from the previous generation who would do a "sitting" with painters for a portrait.

Manilenos often have the opportunity to get their photos taken, studios were more accessible to them. They would have clothes tailored just for their photo sessions. As for the average low income or provincial Pinoy, most only have their wedding portrait as the sole occasion to have photos professionally done in a studio.


She could be from a well-to-do familia and can afford her own elegant terno made for this shot. Or like the enterprising studios of today, they have props and some wardrobe ready for their customers.