via aceshowbiz.com
So I have this fun linen thrifted men's shirt. Upon watching The Rum Diary for the second time, I notice that Michael Rispoli's character is wearing 3 or 4 different versions of this shirt, same pockets, same tiny pin-tucked pleats down the front on both sides etc. I figure this shirt must be a certain style of that time or region (it is set in Puerto Rico) and check my label. It is Botany 500 which turns out to be originally from Philadelphia and has been around since the 40's!.. but this is irrelevant to what is it called, Botany 500 makes all kinds of suits and men's clothing (see ad above). More googling and eventually turns out this shirt is a Guayabera, also know as a "Mexican wedding shirt". I'm thinking there are plenty of people I know who would have known this, but I still feel accomplished for figuring it out lol.
(excerpt from Wikipedia)The origin of the garment is Creole, a mixture of Native American and Spanish wear developed in late 1800s. Various claims for the distinctive style have been made in several Latin America countries as well as the Philippines.[3][4]
A version of the shirt's origins claims that Mexicans either originated it in Veracruz state or the Yucatán Peninsula. One theory holds that it was during the era of trade routes through the Caribbean that the Mexican shirts got to Cuba, and were taken to the Philippines by the Spaniards, where the evolution of the intricate embroidery started. Alternatively, others speculate that the shirt, which has documented origins in the Philippines prior to the arrival of the Spanish, made its way to Cuba through Mexico via the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. The origin of the Guayabera shirt remains a mystery, and a similar prototypical shirt has existed since the 18th century, probably imported from Spain.[3]
Guayabera may come from a Cuban legend that tells of a poor countryside seamstress sewing large patch-pockets onto her husband's shirts for carrying guava (guayabas) from the field.[3][5] Guayabera may also have originated from the word yayabero, the singular nickname for those who lived near the Yayabo River in Cuba.[3][6]
Though commonly called guayabera, in Yucatán, Mexico, it is also known as camisa de Yucatan. In 2010, Cuba declared the guayabera shirt to be its "official formal dress garment"
Consider yourself educated.
And now today's outfit with my guayabera:
Today's list: Botany 500 shirt, James Jeans dark emerald green knit pants, Kimchi Blue floral sandals, Balenciaga city bag, and Elizabeth and James Bowery sunglasses
