Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
The guayabera is a men's shirt, probably originating in Cuba, that has been popular in Latin America since the late 19th century. It has four pockets, two above and two below, and two vertical lines of embroidery that pass under the pockets. As a straight-bottomed shirt, it is worn outside the trousers. This page explains the guayabera's defining details, the unclear origin of both the shirt and its name — guava picker in Spanish, perhaps after using the pockets for carrying guavas — and why the same garment is identical, from an outsider's perspective, to a Mexican wedding shirt.
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Women's Guayabera Shirts
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Men's Guayabera Shirts
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/guayabera ). 12/6/04 Modified by Apparel Search. |
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The guayabera solves a climate problem. A suit jacket and tie signal formality in a temperate climate, but in the Caribbean and Latin America the same occasion — a wedding, a christening, a formal business or government appearance — needs a shirt that carries the formality on its own, in a fabric light enough for heat. The guayabera's decoration does that work: the two vertical lines of embroidery running down the front, passing under the pockets, give the plain shirt a dressed, finished character, and the four pockets are both a practical feature and part of the recognised silhouette. Because it is worn outside the trousers with a straight bottom, no belt or tucked waistband interrupts the embroidered fronts.
Construction follows the climate. Guayaberas are traditionally made in light, breathable fabrics, with short sleeves common for everyday wear and long sleeves for more formal occasions, and the vertical embroidery is matched by fine pleating worked into the fronts on many versions. The shirt's double identity is part of its history: the same garment is sold across the region under the guayabera name, while from an outsider's perspective it is identical to the Mexican wedding shirt, the embroidered white shirt worn by grooms and guests at Mexican weddings. In both roles it occupies the place that a dress shirt and jacket hold elsewhere — the expected, respectful dress for a formal occasion — adapted to be worn in heat, which is why it has remained standard dress in the region since the late nineteenth century rather than passing as a short-lived fashion.
A guayabera has four pockets, two above and two below, and two vertical lines of embroidery that pass under the pockets. As a straight-bottomed shirt, it is worn outside the trousers.
The guayabera is a men's shirt, probably originating in Cuba, that has been popular in Latin America since the late 19th century.
The name means guava picker in Spanish, perhaps in reference to using the pockets for carrying guavas. However, the origin of the shirt and of the name is unclear, and the guayabera may be a folk etymology from an unrelated place name.