There are many stories as to exactly where, when and by whom the first guayabera shirts
were made or worn. This in part explains why this great shirt is called by so many names including
men’s Cuban shirt, a Mexican wedding shirt, a beach wedding
shirt, a men’s white wedding shirt and unfortunately some people even refer to
them as bowling shirts.
No matter what you call them, or who it was that first invented them, the guayabera linen
shirt is gaining in popularity as a fashionable piece of your wardrobe that can be worm for many occasions and
will always send the message that you are a man of exquisite style and taste. I love to wear linen shirts
and guayabera shirts are one of my favorite styles of men’s linen shirts.
Just as there are different opinions on the origin of guayabera shirts there are also
different opinions on precisely what a guayabera shirt is supposed to look like. For me, and for many people, a
true classic guayabera in the tradition of the Cuban farmer (my own personally preferred story for it’s origin)
must have four pockets and two vertical pleats and flat collar. Legend has it, or so I am told, that the purpose
of the four pockets was to allow Cuban farmers to carry guavas in the pockets. Other people who still agree with
me that Cuba is the true origin of the guayabera say that the term has been “lost in translation” over the years
and that initially it was called a “yayabera” which was named after the Yayabo river in Cuba.
In any event, guayabera shirts are gaining in popularity throughout the world and are
even becoming a piece of clothing to be worn by women who are seeking to make a fashion statement. The
guayabera shirt is well known for being both comfortable and cool, one of the reasons it’s a favorite in
tropical climates.
Online you can find smaller retailers who specialize in traditional guayabera shirts, which by the way was typically a white shirt but other large
sophisticated retailers like Perry Ellis and Urban Outfitters have also begun to carry a line of these great
shirts.
Today you can also find Cuban guayabera shirts or Cubavera shirts as they are also know in colors other than white
although they tend to stay in the soft pastel range usually made from a variety of cottons including Egyptian
cotton at the upper end of the market as well as linen. For men, a nice pair of white linen or cotton pants are
typically the preferred type of trouser to complete the cool, calm, casual and sophisticated look whether you’re
wearing it as a beach wedding shirt or a Mexican wedding shirt.