Whatever the origin, the guayabera is without question the hot shirt of the moment. “Around here,” says Chris Parkesian of Hollywood’s Jet Rag vintage-clothing store, “people think you have to wear one in order to be cool.” To Edwin Guzman, 24, a waiter at the hip New York restaurant Ideya, guayaberas used to be as fashion-forward as a cardigan with elbow patches. “It’s what all the old guys always wore,” he says. Now Guzman is wearing them too–all the waiters at the Pan-Latin restaurant do, but he’s started a personal collection to wear on his own time. “They’re really making a comeback with young Latins,” he says, “and I see them on a lot of white kids too.”
The guayabera is defined by its pockets and its pleats. Two pockets instead of four, and you’re probably wearing a Mexican chazarilla. Long sleeves and no pockets at all, and you may well be in a Philippine barong tagalog. No pockets and no pleats? Sorry, that’s just a shirt. The most sought-after guayaberas are vintage shirts from the ’50s and ’60s, valued for their intricate stitching and all-cotton construction. For new guayaberas, clothing stores in Hispanic neighborhoods often carry cotton-polyester blends for under $20. The southern California surf-wear line Maji features a version ($50-$60) that has a boxier cut, like the Hawaiian aloha shirts favored by surfers and skateboarders. “Guayaberas are huge in our store,” says Nicole Hourian, who manages the Shoe Zoo in San Clemente, Calif. “They’re the new surfer shirts.” Jackie Grossman and husband Paul Devitt link Latin with lounge by adding embroidery martini glasses and other retro designs to classic Mexican guayaberas. Their Swave and Deboner collection ($48 for men’s guayaberas) also includes a full line of guayabera-inspired sun dresses, skirts and fitted shirts for women. And New York designer John Bartlett probably strayed farther from the original than anyone else with a $750 suede number last year. He’ll offer a $320 cotton version this fall.
The true charm of a guayabera lies not in innovative designs but in the classic comfort and versatility that make an enthusiast like 33-year-old Jeff Rosendahl in Los Angeles call his guayabera “the best shirt I own.” Depending on the material and the embroidery, a guayabera can be as casual as a bowling shirt or as proper as a business suit. Wear a tie? Dude, you can get married in this thing and not even have to tuck it in. Do they sell them by the dozen?
