OK, cool chickies, you can be a part of history with your vote on the Guyabera Shirt.
Background: About 15 years ago, I went with a couple of female friends to a garage sale. I saw a guyabera shirt, and it was made of seersucker, blue and white. I asked the girls, jokingly, what they thought of it. The two of them were so virulently opposed that I wussed out, and didn’t buy it. To my everlasting shame. The comment from was “Are you married? Do you ever want to be? Then don’t buy that shirt.” Fearsome, to be sure.
At any rate, I have hated myself for being a wuss, and losing the shirt. I am going to start wearing them again, bachelorhood be anathema; but, I want to know if I can wear it around ladies without becoming a whipping boy?
You could totally wear that. If you plan to be stranded on an island and pairing the shirt with a straw fedora and khaki shorts made from your frayed dockers.
I hate them. No offense to anyone but, to me, they look effeminate.
Also they are the kind of thing that are ok in their country of origin for the purpose originally made and the general population there is wearing them. Once you take them out of context (as tourists who purchase such things and bring them home), they look silly. Trust me, once you have one, you’ll NEVER wear it.
There aren’t many clothes that are bad choices for all people in all circumstances. It really depends on your age and the type of people you spend your time with and seek to impress.
That said, a black polyester-blend guyabera shirt is one of them. Are you planning on it being a staple of your wardrobe? It should be a shirt you wear occasionally on really hot days in the summer when you’re planning on being outside a lot - like to a barbecue or picnic. It needs to be a natural fiber, linen or cotton. It should be white or a natural tan or even blue or anything but black. Even if you get all that right it might still be hard to pull off depending on your age and who you hang around with.
Ick. Really. Why would you? It’s the sort of thing George’s Dad would buy from Kramer and the two of them strut around thinking they looked cool . . . then they’d convince themselves they were starting a new fashion trend and go buy a warehousefull on the cheap . . .
Yeah, really, you don’t need all that hassle, and the import tax alone will kill you, so just don’t do it to yourself. Seriously.
It’s the two bottom pockets. Women’s tunics have them and so do ladies housecoats. Something similar without all the pockets and without the micro pleats would be great.
I do like a guy who wears plain cotton shirts with collar and buttons over a polo. Polo shirts are never seen on guys I’m with.
Only if you’re planning on hanging out with Gilligan and the Professor. Or you consider Cousin Eddy from the Vacation series a fashion guru. (Seriously, that shirt is hideous)
I got a couple guyaberas becaus this assinine clothing policy where I used to work mandated that women had to tuck in shirts [even the type of polo shirt that catalogs display on models untucked] and I determined that with the bottom pockets it was plain to the most jackass fuckwad idiot that the shirt was not designed to be tucked in. And I like the 4 pockets =) When you gimp around on crutches, pockets are great because you cant really hand carry stuff easily so I could put stuff in the pockets =) The bright red one is still one of my favorite shirts, it is very festive. I got mine from MyCubanStore.com, and they are 100% cotton.
Of course you should get one, get a fine polyester not a cheap one, be bold add some color or stripes. Don’t foget the panama hat, huaraches and chinos!
No seriously, life is too short to worry about other peoples opinion of what you wear!
I have one I bought in San Juan, it’s mf’ing cool, pink with watermelon’s (?) all over it. Alas it’s too small, but I used to wear it with a white bucket hat, but then again I lived in South Florida, ymmv.
What’s the dress code in your part of the country? Do the ladies in question prefer douchebag pop-collars, heavy metal t’s or cowboy shirts with pearl snaps? A natural fiber guayabara can work if your irony is in good shape; skinny with maybe a goatee? It’s retro & actually comfortable in hot weather! Or if you’re really an older, solidly built guy–the original market.
Have you ever worn a Hawaiian shirt? This Texas company offers the Hawaiiabera–combining features of both styles.
Of course, I live in Houston. But your profile says Oklahoma–home of Ray Wiley Hubbard, who finally lived down writing “Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother” only to create this gem:
Ah, Bridget–I do love Ray Wiley! As to the OP, I live on the border where these shirts are ubiquitous. But only on men over 65 (especially the winter Texans who are from waaay up north and think they look exotic). I’ve never, ever seen a younger man in a guayabera. My husband is 58 and I would never “allow” him to wear one–lol!
