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.”
The shirt’s popularity spread throughout Latin America, where the humid climate of the tropics made the shirt comfortable wear, especially for businessmen. As time went by the origin of the Guayabera became somewhat clouded. Many countries claimed the shirt as their own. In Mexico, where the shirt was copied from visiting tourists from Cuba, the shirt became known as the Mexican Wedding Shirt. Later on as Cubans made a mass exodus from the communist tyranny on their island, they brought the Guayabera with them.
Guayabera shirts were once white, starched long sleeved shirts with sets of breast and waist pockets. The shirts were mostly worn by important businessmen because of their distinctive look. Today’s designers have introduced embroidered front panels and a multitude of tropical colors making the shirts more vibrant. The shirts today also come in short sleeves and can be worn for any occasion.
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.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: beach wedding shirts, cuban guayabera shirts, Fashion, fashion shirts, fashion styles, Fashion trends, guayabera, guayabera shirts, guayaberas, linen guayabera, men's fashions, mexican guayabera, mexican wedding shirts, wedding fashions