down the chest), and the absence of pockets. They are also worn loosely and have slits on both sides. Historically, the material used for barong tagalog depended on the social class of the wearer and the formality of the occasion. Barong tagalog made of fine, sheer material like nipis were worn largely by the upper classes or were used for festive occasions; while barong tagalog made of cheaper opaque materials like cotton or sinamay were used by lower classes or for daily wear. The quality of the material and the intricacy of the embroidery were often signs of the status and wealth of the wearer. The embroidery of the barong tagalog are commonly placed on a rectangular section on the front of the chest (known as pechera, "shirt front", from Spanish pecho, "chest"), and/or over the entire shirt (sabog, from Tagalog for "scattered"). They feature various embroidery techniques, including calado and doble calado ("pierced" and "double-pierced", types of openwork drawn thread embroidery), encajes de bolilio (Venetian lace), and sombrado (shadow embroidery). They can also have other kinds of ornamentation, like alforza (pleats), suksuk (weft floats), and even hand-painted designs. Occasionally feminized versions are worn by women, either as an egalitarian or haute couture fashion statement; or as a form of power dressing when worn by female politicians (such as Corazon Aquino during her presidency). However, the direct female counterpart of the barong tagalog is the baro't saya (or more formal versions of it like the traje de mestiza and the terno), and both share the same precolonial origins. History Pre-colonial era The barong tagalog originated from the Tagalog baro (literally "shirt" or "clothing", also known as barú or bayú in other Philippine languages), a simple collar-less shirt or jacket with close-fitting long sleeves worn by both men and women in most ethnic groups in the pre-colonial Philippines. These were made from rough linen-like cloth woven from native abacá fiber, or from imported fabrics woven from silk, cotton, and kapok, among others. This type of shirt was known by the Spanish as the canga or chamerreta. Among Tagalog men, they were commonly paired with a rectangle of richly decorated cloth known as the salaual or salawal worn knee-length and drawn up in the middle (like an Indian dhoti or Thai and Cambodian sompot chong kben); while in women they were paired with a wraparound skirt known as the tapis. The baro