Barong Tagalog for Men – The Perfect Fit

The perfect fit of the barong tagalog for men is key to making you look as good as possible. Getting a tailored barong tagalog would be the best way, but it is quite easy to make sure ready-to-wear barongs will fit you just right as well.

With Filipino sizing, the measurements are often smaller than Western sizing, which is usually an inch or more than Filipino sizes depending on the manufacturer. The following chart shows the measurement for quality barongs from Barong Warehouse.

Measuring Yourself

When ordering a barong online, make sure you measure yourself properly with a measuring tape. You can also ask help from someone close to you to measure you more easily. If you don't have a measuring tape, use any safe string or wire, mark measurements with your finger and compare it against a ruler. Then compare your sizing with the measurements in the chart.

1. To get your collar size, measure loosely all the way around your neck forming a V at the base of the front of your neck. If you like a more loose collar fit, add two fingers in between the measuring tape and your neck.
2. To get your shoulder length, measure from the back in an upward curve from one shoulder bone to the other.
3. To get your chest size, loosely measure all the way around the widest part of your chest. The measuring tape should be held up just right under your armpits. The barong is a loose fitting garment so you may add two-six inches to your real chest size. Ready-to-wear barongs are a straight cut from the chest to the waist to the hips. Measure the widest part of your waist and hips to make sure they fit this straight cut.
4. To measure your cuff size, loosely measure around your wrists. Your sleeve cuff should be loose enough so you can fit your wrist watch through it if you wear one.
5. To get your short-sleeve length, measure from the corner of your shoulder to 1-2" above your elbow. For the long-sleeve length, measure from the corner of your shoulder, all the way down the side of your arms, to the bottom of your wrists.
6. To get your armhole size, loosely measure around your armpits. 
7. To get your back length, measure from the bottom middle part of your neck up to 4 inches under your belt or the bottom of your rear-end.

Ready-to-wear garments carry general sizes that fit most people. Following the chart above, there might not be a size that’s exactly right for you. But the amazing thing about the barong is that it is loose fitting, so you can drop or add an inch to any of the measurements and the garment should still fit you well.

Another alternative is to buy a barong that will most likely be bigger for you and then have a seamstress who has experience with barongs alter the garment to your exact size.

Proper Fit of a Dress Shirt

A barong tagalog for men is very much like a regular dress shirt. Because of this we can follow some rules of how a dress shirt should look on and how a barong tagalog should look on. If you don’t have a barong tagalog yet, you can follow some of your dress shirt sizes such as the collar/neckline and sleeve length.

However, a barong’s chest size is usually more loose (about 1-2 inches) and its length is usually longer than a normal dress shirt (about 1-2 inches).

Again, if you don’t have a measuring tape handy, find a dress shirt that fits you well and use the measurements from that to determine your barong measurements following the guidelines in the above two paragraphs.

A Few Barong Tagalog Size Tips

For the neckline, button the barong all the way up. You should be able to snugly insert your forefinger and middle finger inside your neckline. If your two fingers can’t fit inside your neckline, you will soon feel like you’re being choked by the collar. If your fingers are too loose in your neckline, that collar is too big for you.

The shoulder seam should sit right at the very corner where your shoulder ends and your upper arm begins. The sleeves should then be just loose enough to allow you to have natural motion.

While you’re standing up, the barong chest buttons and embroidery should fall nicely flat on your chest, while the length should be about four inches below your belt.

The distinct barong side slits should be a quarter of inch below your belt to allow you to comfortably insert your hands into your pants.

To have that authentic and traditional Filipino look, wear a Camisa de Chino underneath your barong or get a barong with lining. Just make sure it fits you right and it will help you look great for any formal occasion or at the office.

For quality barong tagalog at the lowest  prices, please check out the Barong Warehouse classic designs.

Custom Order Barong Tagalog

If you want to be absolutely certain that the barong will fit you, e-mail us at info@barongwarehouse.com and we can custom make a barong for you in 3-4 weeks. Please refer to this measurement guide for getting your exact measurements.

Sources:

Primer Magazine