The Guayabera – A Fashion Shirt With A Distinct Style

The Guayabera is a shirt with a long history. It has been a popular shirt for businessmen in many Latin American countries for the past 200 years. The shirt has gained popularity in recent years due to the efforts of several fashion designers such as Cubavera. Today the shirt is worn by both men and women of all ages. The Guayabera is extremely popular in warm weather climates like that found in Miami, Fl., where July 1st. has been officially declared as “Guayabera Day” or “El Dia de la Guayabera.”

The Guayabera shirt first came to prominence back in the early 18th. century on the island of Cuba. It was a custom shirt made for a rich land owner in the province of Las Villas. This area of Cuba near the Yayabero River is famous for producing the tasty Guava fruit. The local farmers copied the shirt’s design and added four pockets to the shirts front for holding the fruit. Thus the shirt got its name “La Guayabera.”

Because of the humid conditions in many Latin American countries the Guayabera was adopted by the business community as a replacement for the traditional business suit. Tailors from the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula copied the shirt’s design and called it “La Camisa Yucatan” which was mostly worn for ceremonies such as weddings. The Guayabera’s popularity spread and when Cubans migrated to the US they brought the shirt with them.

Guayaberas were originally long sleeved shirts with pleated fronts. They had 2 upper breast pockets as well as 2 waist pockets. They were usually starched and were always worn out over the pants. The businessmen who wore the shirt were given a sense of power and distinction. The Guayaberas of today come in many different colors and fabrics. They come in long sleeves as well as short sleeves. There are even Guayabera dresses for women.

The comfort, freshness and simplicity of style have made this shirt resist the impact of time. From its humble beginnings as a simple garment to the modern colorful styles of today, The Guayabera Shirt is a testament to Latin culture.