Frequently Asked Questions

Where is it appropriate to wear guayaberas?

Guayaberas are acceptable attire for just about any occasion. Guayaberas are now worn to weddings where even the bride and groom attire themselves in guayaberas. Baptisms, funerals, work and even just to lounge around in a comfortable shirt, D'Accord guayaberas are pretty much appropriate for all occasions unless indicated otherwise.

Former President George W Bush wears D'Accord guayaberas . He wears the D'Accord Camaguey style in Tan.

His father and also former President George Herbert Walker Bush wears the D'Accord Camaguey in white.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush wears the D'Accord Camaguey in white.

Internationally speaking Simon Perez wears D'Accord linen guayaberas that probably serve him well in the middle eastern heat.

Actor Clint Walker wears one D'Accord long sleeve camp shirt that Rafael Contreras fashioned after a luxurious linen blend shirt that Walker wore on his TV show 'Cheyenne'.

Gloria Estefan acquired the D'Accord guayabera model 'Trinidad' which is a 100% cotton oxford for her dancers to wear in one of her music videos.

Roberto Martin Perez a Cuban patriot that was imprisoned in Cuba 28 years wears nothing but D'Accord guayaberas and denim jeans.

On May 20th 2008 at a Cuban Independence day function Rafael Contreras presented Presidential candidate John McCain with two D'Accord guayaberas.

No.  Pima cotton from Peru is about the finest cotton you can find in the world. Our Pima cotton guayaberas hold up beautifully even during a long hard day at work including having your seat belt strapped across your guayabera.

In our washing instructions inside our D'Accord linen guayaberas we recommend dry clean only.  However you can also wash them in the gentle cold water cycle, drip dry them and press them in the appropriate setting for 100% linen.   Altenatively you may want to have it professionally pressed especially if it is for an important occasion.

Throughout the years master tailors have painstakingly tweaked the measurements of the D'Accord guayabera to evolve with the physiques of the 21st century male .

Here at D'Accord, we strive to make the premier guayabera and we know that each additional tuck only adds to the stature of the D'Accord guayabera and of course to the wearer. 

Yes.  Both striped and plaid guayaberas are very popular and that is why D'Accord offers a number of styles in both.

Yes. Seamstresses have adjusted the women's D'Accord guayabera patterns to flatter today's active women.

Yes . D'Accord is a manufacturer, designer and distributor that has been supplying fine retailers since 1980. 

Yes. D'Accord has the production capacity to do custom orders from as few as 50 units to thousands.

D'Accord manufactures everything but the D'Accord guayaberas in its production facilities in Miami, Florida.

About the Guayabera

The glorious guayabera was most likely devised either in Cuba or in Mexico, namely in the Yucatan Peninsula.

When you look at a world map or globe, you visualize the proximity of the island of Cuba and the Yucatan peninsula. The actual distance from the northeastern tip of Yucatan to the western tip of Cuba is only 123 miles. So it stands to reason that the guayabera could have originated from either country, given the similar tropical climates, the industriousness of the people and the trade between the two throughout history. The most important thing however is that the guayabera was actually created.

Various legends have been dispersed in newspapers and magazine articles and the following one has been credited to both Cuba and Yucatan. The tale is that a campesino asked his wife to make him a shirt with four pockets so that he could gather and carry the guayabas as he harvested them. I deduct that this first guayabera must have had huge pockets in order to carry a significant amount of guayabas or guavas, thus the shirt was christened as a guayabera.

What makes the guayabera unique is the many different details that are inherent to it. The traditional guayabera has four pockets and two vertical rows of tucks or alforzas. These are made by stitching diminutive folds of fabric closely together of at least ten tucks per row. D'Accord assembles its Cuban styled guayaberas in Yucatan and stitch sixteen tucks in the polycotton and cotton guayaberas and nineteen tucks in the finer premium linen and pima cotton guayaberas. This feature alone is a definitive factor in differentiating a D'Accord guayabera from the other guayabera offerings. The two rows of tucks are in the front and back of the guayaberas, with the finer guayaberas having a third row of tucks or alforzas in the middle of the back of the guayabera. The four patch pockets are also detailed with the alforzas and they must align with the two rows in the front.

Other details are the buttons on the top of each of the four pockets as well as the bottoms of the alforzas or tucks. The guayaberas are of course worn outside the pants and thus possess side vents about three inches long with three buttons lined up on the plackets. Another feature of the D'Accord guayabera is that we follow the traditional Cuban style and add a front placket, and on the finer pima cotton styles the front placket itself is stitched with alforzas leaving a space in the middle of the placket for the buttons to fit perfectly.

D'Accord also pay homage to the Mexican guayaberas, that are known for the extra embellishments such as lavish embroideries. We designed a guayabera with only two bottom pockets in order to feature a generous embroidery running alongside the alforzas.

Guayaberas are usually short sleeved but evolved into long sleeved styles. One style cuff is the typical dress shirt cuff that D'Accord makes with a wider button hole to give the wearer the added feature of wearing them with cufflinks or as a regular long sleeved buttoned cuff. The other one is the double cuff that is mostly known as the French cuff. This was first introduced in Guadalajara, Mexico probably from the influence of the French occupation that began in 1862 and lasted six years. This form of wearing the guayabera is now the equivalent of a tuxedo and is accepted as formal attire. When Cuba was a free country great dressers would wear a French cuffed guayabera with a bow tie.

And in present day tropical Colombian cities like Cartagena and Barranquilla, French cuffed long sleeved guayaberas as well as regular long sleeves is the accepted attire for social functions such as weddings, baptisms and graduations. Some businesses even rent guayaberas for these special occasions. So the guayabera in many tropical climes has taken over for the tuxedo and even here in the United States there is a big demand for guayabera weddings. The guayabera is no longer your grandfather's or father's shirt, it has become the all purpose multitasker for the 21st century. So the guayabera is not only acceptable attire for happy occasions but for somber ones such as funerals.

Another variation of the guayabera is the chazarilla also known as a "shirt jac" and "jac shirt". The chazarilla is nothing more than a shorter version of the guayabera with the big difference being that it only has two pockets and has no side vents. On the sides it has tabs similar to an Eisenhower jacket to adjust the waist to the wearer's preference. The chazarilla may be more comfortable than the guayabera and is usually worn by a shorter man who feels that the traditional guayabera may be too long for him. The chazarilla is a much more informal garment and does not have the accepted stature of the guayabera. D'Accord guayaberas are world renowned and are worn by Spanish royalty and by past and present presidents of the United States of America and I'm sure the future presidents will wear one as well.

About the Camp Shirt

The American camp shirt was most likely an offshoot of the Cuban guayabera. The similarities are: the straight bottom of the camp shirt and the side vents just like the traditional guayabera.

The camp shirts began to be seen for the first time in the 1940's. And I venture to speculate that the American service man was the catalyst that demanded it. After being in uniform during World War II, American soldiers sought a comfortable garment that would be the complete opposite of the rigid military uniforms they wore during this transcendental fight for freedom. An ingenuous individual took the inspiration from the guayaberas square bottom hem and the side vents that would admit the comfort and at the same time the informal elegance of being worn un-tucked.

Then came the next attribute that gives the camp shirt its distinction. You would defeat the purpose of a casual shirt if it had a dress collar on it so the "camp collar", which gives the camp shirt its name, was devised.

This is a one piece collar with no collar band. Thus it may be worn open or closed at the neck with a button and loop. The D'Accord camp shirts are different from the others in this wide field because the side vents are 3 inches long just like in the guayabera. And the collar is spread or opens without any button or loop to tempt the wearer into buttoning up.

We at D'Accord believe this would totally defeat the purpose of such a casual shirt. D'Accord also believes that the camp shirt is an American invention and thus we make all our camp shirts here in the United States of America.

Where may you wear your camp shirt? Casual gatherings such as barbeques, shopping, lunch, dinner and a movie or just about anywhere that you want to be comfortable while at the same time be better dressed than in a T shirt. And please, even though the camp shirt was indeed inspired by the guayabera, do not wear it to your grandfather's funeral.

The camp shirt was first worn in the 40's and has been the garment of choice when not wearing a guayabera. The D'Accord camp shirts come in a variety of fabrics such

As linen and microfibers both solid and beautiful prints in many color variations to match your pants. Like the guayabera you may dress it up in slacks or dress it down just as you would with a guayabera. D'Accord offers styles reminiscent of the shirts worn in the popular TV show "Two and a Half Men" in three different panel colors and unique embroideries. Should you be interested in our line of casual and camp shirts you may find them in select retailers in the US and, of course, here in our online store.