Knit Crew Necks

Perfect for a Tropical Wedding! Its is easy…….

Linen knits are the “New Black”. Every store has them on sale for $80-$140 dollars, but we designed our linen knits with a dress look but can be worn with our Linen Slacks or drawstring pants and shorts and we are selling them 75% below retail. Giving them away!

We ave them in stock in sizes Medium to XX Large and the sizes are cut generously. (Med would be a large)

Our colors:

White, Oatmeal, Royal, Aqua

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Warm weather is here! Everyone is looking good. The hunt is on for the coolest clothes you can find. Of course Linen is on the tip of the tongue…. So we designed a dress that can be worn for a Wedding, formal event or a hot night out. Since the dress is designed in house we can do so many combination it make is the best dress we could ever sell. We give you the “Allyson” (named after the young designer)

We will be adding new images of this dress in a day or so.

Here is a picture of what we did!

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In the Caribbean: Back in the day only the wise older men used to wear the infamous guayabera shirts to hide their rounded bellies. It gave a mature and respectable look to whatever they were wearing. The most commonly seen was the cotton guayabera in every color know to man. Simple and plain….. Now you see every fabric known to man and everyone is making them. Of course we are a 100% Linen company so we finally decided to go with a Linen Guayabera for men since we already stock them for women for the past 2 years. Since there is so many varieties we said we would keep it simple and plain for men giving the shirt back its rich tradition and Caribbean flavor and only stocking it in 100% Linen in a few great colors and long and short sleeve.

The guayabera is a men’s shirt popular in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the West Indies. It is also known by the Spanish terms camisa de Yucatan and Yucatanera.

History

The origin of the garment is disputed, as various claims for the distinctive style have been made in all the Latin America countries. It has been argued that the Filipino Barong Tagalog predates the guayabera. The guayabera has spread to most countries, including Asia, Africa, Thailand and the Philippines.

It has arrived in Zimbabwe, where the locals say it was handed down to them by Cuban teachers who once lived there. Some Mexicans believe that the guayabera was created in their country, though it is sometimes considered representative of Cuban culture, especially in the United States. Mexicans of the Yucatan Peninsula take great pride in the shirt as a national matter of fact, and indeed was more commonly seen among Mexicans since American tourist contact with Cubans was always limited. Nevertheless, even Infoplease defines the shirt as “originally worn by men in Cuba.”

The origin of the name guayabera may come from a Cuban legend that tells of a poor countryside seamstress sewing large pockets into her husband’s shirts for carrying guava (guayabas) from the field, thus creating the guayabera style. (The same legend circulates in Mexico, claiming that a guava farmer designed the shirt for himself; his wife later made and sold them to supplement the family income.) Guayabera may also have originated from the word yayabero, the word for a person who lived near the Yayabo River in Cuba.

In Mexico, though commonly called “guayabera”, the shirt is still often called “camisa Yucatan” (“Yucatan shirt”), sometimes shortened to “Yucatan” and recently Yucatanera. Generally, older people use the term “Yucatan”; they view it in Mexico as a notch above what they consider the generic “Guayabera”. This reflects the common belief in Mexico that the shirt was created in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the very region of Yucatan.

As an extension, some Mexicans enthusiastically claim the shirt is a Mayan Indian creation. In this version of the Guayabera shirt creation myth, the guava farmer was a poor Mayan Indian. Cubans, however, will not relinquish the claim on its origin.

Most probable is that the shirt was originally a symbol of the Spanish indentured servant, and as such spread throughout all the countries where it is said to have originated. In a sense, this is true as many Indians adopted Spanish clothing and made it their own. The shirt developed in each region, with variations unique to the region and naturally each region feels it created the Guayabera. Even the Philippines claim it as their own, and attach very nationalist feelings to it.

In America, not only the safari shirt but the camp shirt and even the Hawaiian shirt were inspired by the Guayabera. This trend was already normative by the 1930′s; see Albert Einstein in his favorite campshirt, seated with fellow scientist Leo Szilard.

Design

The guayabera shirt is distinguished by several details: either two or four patch pockets and two vertical rows of alforzas (fine, tiny pleats, usually 10, sewn closely together) running along the front and back of the shirt (the pockets are separately detailed with identical, properly aligned alforzas).

The top of each pocket is usually adorned with a matching shirt button, as are the bottoms of the alforza pleats. Vertical rows of adjusting buttons are often seen, one on each side, at the bottom hem. While the Mexican version usually has no front placket covering the buttons, the Cuban guayabera has a button-placket, also decorated with alforzas.

The Mexican models are available with generous embroidery in shiny brocade patterns, sometimes with beautifully embroidered, realistic flowers. Mexico is also renowned for its eccentric, beautifully custom-made Yucatan guayaberas. The market suffers in Mexico today, as cheap Chinese imports overtake the market, leaving the $200-per-shirt retailers and tailors in desperation.

The bottoms of some shirts have three-inch slits on either side, and these include adjusting buttons. The Mexican shirt will usually have three such buttons at the bottom, on each side. It has a straight-bottom hem, thus it is not tucked into the trousers. It is clearly the direct inspiration for the American “camp” shirt.

Though properly worn short-sleeved, the guayabera’s cuffs may be either one-button barrel-and-gauntlet style, or French-cuffed — a modification first introduced in Guadalajara, Mexico. The white French-cuffed guayabera, worn without a tie, is considered to be the equivalent of a tuxedo and can also be worn as formal attire. It is considered poor form in Mexico to wear a tie with a Yucatan at any time, though some countries have the custom of wearing a white, long sleeve, French-cuffed guayabera with a bowtie. The Cuban guayabera is normally long sleeved, made of cotton or linen, with very little ornamentation.

Wearing

The guayabera is generally worn open-necked. The Mexican model has a little loop at the collar in case the shirt collar must be buttoned. In many nations, a black or white guayabera (in a more elaborate, long sleeve style) is becoming acceptable for funerals.

Wearing a guayabera to a funeral in years past would have been viewed as insulting; the attitude began changing when guayaberas were often seen at ordinary church services.

Though traditionally worn in white and pastels, guayaberas are now available in many colors. The short-sleeved version is the prototype, with long sleeves a later addition. Short-sleeves are thought to be original because it is easier for the work environment, for which the guayabera was created. Designers have modified the original style, creating guayaberas for women as well as guayabera-style dresses.

Other names

In many nations, including Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Jamaica, the guayabera is often worn as office wear. In Asia and British-influenced countries it is called a “bush jacket” (similar to the Filipino’s Polo Barong) and in Great Britain is called the “safari shirt”. In the Philippines it is called Barong-Tagalog and bears marks of nationalist pride. In Trinidad and the U.S., it is also known as a “shirt-jac” or “jac shirt.” In its British version, much simpler than any other version, it has become very popular there in recent years. In the Dominican Republic it is called “chacabana

From: From Wikipedia

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