We love a guayabera shirt at Permanent Style.
On my 2022 trip to Mexico I picked up two lovely shirts which sadly, like the Cadbury’s Freddo, appear to have suffered from some form of sartorial shrinkflation. It can’t possibly be me that’s grown can it?!
You can buy guayaberas in the UK of course, but they are harder to find (I’m not aware of many places that stock them as a perennial) and, as is the case with Simon’s old one, are often quite expensive for a shirt that, before the summer is out, will likely end up with cherry ice cream on it (the best flavour, end of, comments section closed).
So last year we set about making our own version with our friends at OMTC, who we knew had made this type of shirt before, and could strike the right balance between quality and value.
The shirt we’re launching today is the PS Guayabera in a hand-loomed dark navy cotton chambray. We think it’s a particularly wearable style – hopefully converting a few who have been unsure in the past – and it’s very practical for this time of year: you can wear it with or without a layer and it has pockets for everything.
Cloth
I won’t linger on the hand-loomed element – we’ve written about this process before – but I will just say that we remain big fans of the soft feel of hand-loomed cotton and the natural variation in finish it produces.
Our initial thought was to make a faithful replica of the guayabera in white linen. It’s a classic choice, and if you ever have the opportunity to buy one you like on holiday I urge you to go for it. But, once back home, it can give the air of that guy who hasn’t exited ‘holiday mode’ yet – the one itching to show you his holiday snaps and explain that the best Panama hats are not actually from Panama.
We think the dark-navy cotton chambray has a few benefits over white linen.
First, the chambray itself is quite special. Typically a chambray has the colour (usually blue) in the warp and white in the weft, whereas the OMTC chambray has navy in the warp and a twin mix of indigo and black in the weft. This makes the cloth very rich and adds a lot of depth to the finished shirt.
Second, dark navy is obviously a little less common for a guayabera (which is nice, as we’ve always tried to make products that fill a gap in the market), but it’s not especially unusual for a summer shirt – Tony and Simon’s two-part series on Riviera style has plenty of blue shirt inspiration in it.
Third, the darkness of the shirt means that, at least from a distance, the guayabera’s features – the quadruple patch pockets and the alforzas (pleats) – are less prominent than they would be in white – which we think makes it easier to wear. To keep things subtle and refined, we also opted for a dark mother-of-pearl button to reduce contrast.
Finally, the cotton chambray is a little softer and less crispy than a linen in the same weight, and will rumple a little less as a result.
For these reasons, we reckon the PS Guayabera can be worn as a casual option – buttons mostly undone, sleeves rolled up, worn with shorts or swim trunks; like most chambrays it will also look good with a pair of faded jeans and some canvas sneakers; but it will also work in smarter outfits, paired with tailored trousers and some espadrilles or easy loafers, ready for dinner at a nice restaurant on holiday or summer drinks with friends once you’ve returned home.
Chambray is a good option for warm weather – the reason it became a workwear staple was that it was robust, firm enough to prevent sunburn and light enough to wear cool – and the PS Guaybera will cope well in that corridor up to late 20s degrees celsius (mid 80s fahrenheit). Once the temperature starts tipping over that point, I do think you might feel a little warm. In fairness, there’s not many clothes that will feel cool in those conditions.
Other features
A few other features worth mentioning:
We removed the buttons that traditionally sit at the top of the five pleats – two on the front and three on the back. We felt the shirt was cleaner and less fussy without them.
Inside the bottom left patch pocket is a smaller hidden pocket in which you can stow a small phone or card holder. If you’re doing cartwheels in the shirt (kudos to you) things will likely fall out, but when upright it offers more security than the main patch pockets.
The shirt has two-button side vents which help you get in and out of your trouser pockets more easily.
Sizing
I have a 40” chest and generally flit between medium and large. However, if somebody put a water pistol to my head and forced me to pick my typical size I would say I was a medium, and that is what I’m wearing in most of the photos. Which is to say, I think the PS Guayabera is true to size.
When compared to other PS shirts, the measurements of the Guayabera sit between a medium in the PS Overshirt and the Madras shirt – which makes sense as the Guayabera doesn’t need as much space as the Overshirt to accommodate a layer, and isn’t intended to be worn as close to the body as the tailored Madras shirt.
The one notable difference is in the waist, which is larger on the Guayabera than both the Overshirt and Madras shirt. This is because the Guayabera (as is traditional) has been cut almost plumb straight through the body, making it a very comfortable wear. So go ahead, have the tiramisu at lunchtime. A second bottle of vin rouge? Bien sûr.
Styling
To illustrate the point made earlier about versatility, we’ve shown the shirt worn three different ways.
The first, worn with some vintage Ralph Lauren ‘Tyler’ shorts, a PS tapered T-shirt and Doek Oxford shoes, shows the shirt in a casual setting. The sunglasses are the Geronimo model from Tejesta.
The second, worn with bespoke trousers from Abbie Leach Atelier in a Maison Hellard linen/fresco cloth (review coming shortly) and some Ralph Lauren fisherman sandals, shows how the shirt works in a smarter context.
The bonus third is a shot of Simon wearing his with a pair of vintage Levi’s.
The shirt:
100% cotton, hand-woven in Chennai by Original Madras Trading Company
Navy warp and twin weft of black and indigo
Breathable, suitable for most summers
Softening with washing and wear
Weight 175 gsm
Won’t bleed and will fade slightly over time, but only after many washes
Dark mother-of-pearl buttons
Four patch pockets and one small hidden pocket
Minimal shrinkage, 1-2%
Made in India
For more information on the history of the shirt and the significance of specific elements, please see my original article
Care and fit:
Machine wash and hang dry (or dry clean). Machine drying can lead to excess shrinkage
Can be ironed as normal
True to size with a comfortable fit
