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| Photo by Salt Water New England |
Dear Muffy,
I have a question for the community which is, what are their thoughts on linen? While I love the idea of linen in theory, I have yet to find a good use case for it.
If I dry a linen shirt in the dryer the arms come out twisted. It always feel rough when I first put it in on whether I have air dried it or hung it on a hanger. I have also found it to be a bit clingy and see-through. But maybe I simply haven't found a high enough quality of linen.
And maybe I should just stick to jackets and caps, but what about trousers? Might I have better luck there?
Thank you!
Shown:
- Lotuff Braided Leather Angle Tote <https://lotuffleather.com/collections/totes/products/braided-leather-angle-tote>
odd coincidence that I'm wearing linen pants and a linen shirt (both fresh and crisp from the laundry service), but I live in New Orleans and linen is essential to make it through the tropical weather down here.
ReplyDeleteI have a Polo linen suit that I wear a few times after the start of the fall semester each August and September when the weather can still be quite warm. It wrinkles when you look at it, but it is almost like having nothing on at all, which can be an advantage when teaching in old buildings/classrooms without adequate AC and filled with writhing. student bodies.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
A staple where humidity reigns supreme!
ReplyDeleteI never put my linen pants or shirts in the dryer. Air dry and then do a reasonable ironing before wearing. Wrinkled linen is redundant. Wear and be cool.
ReplyDeleteI’m transferring to one of my organisation’s offices in East Africa this summer. Colleagues there tell me it’s unbearably hot and humid all year. I’m stocking up long sleeved (to keep mosquitos off) on blue, white, and pale pink polo and brooks brothers linen shirts in an effort to beat the heat.
ReplyDelete40 years ago I lived in one of East Africa’s hot countries. 90 degrees +, 24 hours a day, 5 months of the year. People, men and women, in this part of the world, still wear loose fitting, long flowing robes. Such garments keep the skin protected from the hot sun. Heat discomfort is directly correlated to skin temperature. Ask someone who lives in the Ogaden Desert, where there is little electricity, much less air conditioning. Today, we live in southern New England. When the temperatures rise into the 80’s, working in the garden and casually in town, I wear button down long sleeve linen shirts, (ok I usually role up the sleeves), and often linen pants, not shorts. Linen may wrinkle more quickly than cotton. But it is much cooler. It is more durable, and dries faster, than cotton.
DeleteYou are doubtless familiar with the way a certain cohort seems to live in old, soft, unironed khakis and OCBDS, are you not? Apply that same insouciance to linen. The one exception is linen napkins, and I iron mine so that they look crisp. Of course draping it over my lap is not really the same as wearing it!
ReplyDeleteLinen feels like a hairshirt to me and it wrinkles too easily for me. For tailoring, Irish linen is better than Italian linen. For summer shirts and shorts, Indian madras cotton is a much better choice.
ReplyDeleteSeconding everyone's comments about the proper way to dry (air) and the softer version to wear (Irish.) When you're enduring especially hot climes and counting the minutes until the evening's icy cold G&T's, linen is and has always been the way to go.
ReplyDeleteLinen is the best! I wear it all through late spring, summer and early fall. As mentioned above, air dry it...it makes it thicker and eventually softer. I have light blue and tan suits with interchangeable skirts and pants (dry clean), tunic and button down shirts, sleeveless shirts and tanks, trousers and drawstring pants in navy, green and stripes and black, as well as a fantastic black linen short sleeve dress that hits just above my ankles. There are also blends of linen/cotton/silk and linen/rayon that can help bridge seasons. O'Connells and Rani Arabella have some beautiful high end pieces, and you can find excellent basics at LLBean, Uniqlo (Isabelle de la Fresange) or Etsy..for instance Menique Eliana or Olivia organic linen dress...available in 25 colors including a beautiful Moroccan red. You could also go bespoke...many hong kong tailors will custom make men's or women's linen clothing.
ReplyDeleteI wear linen year round (yes, I do!) I always air dry and I am not afraid to wear it rumpled. It also helps that my husband is retired British military- he is a pro at ironing whatever needs ironing!
ReplyDeleteLinen pants are a wonderful way to beat the heat. An air dry and light pressing are all that’s required and they do soften with time.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read everyone's opinions of linen. I wear linen quite a lot but I'm not an expert on the fabric and actually prefer cotton. When I purchase linen it needs to be soft but substantial. If it's thin,rough or stiff, I won't purchase it. I also don't find that all types of linen are cool in the heat and humidity. Some linen feels very hot and scratchy to me. Years ago, LL Bean made beautiful women's linen/cotton blend shirts that were substantial but cool and didn't wrinkle. I believe it is because of the cotton blend. I loved those shirts but for several years now they make thin, stiff and rough linen shirts and pants that I won't purchase. I also won't buy thin linen or cotton shirts that require me to wear a cami or tank under it. What's the point of layering when trying to stay cool in the summer?
ReplyDeleteI wash my linen in cold water, add fabric softener, hang to dry and then fluff them in the drier. I don't mind the puckers.
same
DeleteAll of my sheets are linen. It is a joy to crawl into bed, summer or winter.
ReplyDeleteI tend to prefer linen at the height of summer when the temp goes higher than 30°C with high humidity. I wear linen shift dresses, dress shirts and tunics.
ReplyDeleteGood quality linen is a very serviceable fabric. I still wear a pair of linen shorts I bought in the mid-90s. I also have a linen suit, linen overshirt and a couple of linen/cotton shirts. It's a great fabric for humid days.
ReplyDeleteI really miss high quality, good, true seersucker. Cooler than linen and one doesn't look like a hot wrinkled mess after wearing it for a few hours.
ReplyDeleteI dearly love linen and agree that linen sheets are a delight year-round. Rather than ironing, I find steaming is a bit better - it gets the creases out and retains the softness. I've never found linen to be scratchy after it has been washed. Embracing the wrinkles with insouciance, as Vecchio Vespa has said, is the key to enjoying it from crisp in the morning to rumpled in the evening.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than 100% linen sheets dried on the clothesline in the sun and ocean breeze----no wrinkles, just crisp linen sheets ready for the bed; the smell is amazing. Really all linen should be dried outside on the line then it's easily ironed.
ReplyDeleteA suit and or a vest, on certain occasions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous above... good seersucker on hot days. Have not yet found a comfortable, SOFT, linen shirt... any recommendations? Thank you,
ReplyDeleteLinen goes through a phase where it will get more and more wrinkly the more you wear it, until one day it relaxes and stops being wrinkled at all. From that point on it behaves more like raw silk.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard that. Thank you.
DeleteLove your descriptives anonymous. Linen wrinkles relaxed, like the whiskers in raw denim, the patina of good leather. I like the frumpled look and feel on myself (and others) – says "comfortable in my own."
DeleteEighty and humid today in the Old Dominion. LLBean white and navy check linen button down got recognition from a couple of female clients. No coat nor tie today. I've a similar shirt that is more worn in that I use to cut the grass. Unfortunately, it has gotten to the point where the wearing of a repp tie or blue blazer is considered formal but I won't stop.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Will
When you get a new linen article, wash it twice, once with a quarter cup of vinegar and once with a quarter cup of baking soda. After that it will be much more manageable. Machine wash, line dry, and iron or not as you wish. Buy your linen to fit loosely and leave as many buttons undone as you can. I live in a God awful hot place and find a loosely button, untucked linen shirt cooler than a t-shirt or a pique polo.
ReplyDeleteOnly additional comment to my 2021 post above, shop thrift stores for linen. Just scored an orange Brooks Bros linen shirt for $6. I'm still smiling!
ReplyDeleteIt will be a terrific accompaniment to my 5:00 G&T--extra lime. Prost!
I've got a couple of generously-cut linen shirts from J.Jill which are now ten years old, and they've held up beautifully ... nice and soft now. With lightweight white pants, they're my "respectable" outfit in hot & humid weather.
ReplyDelete2004, Eileen Fisher.... best ever.
DeleteI don't like wrinkles in my clothing, and therefore don't buy linen garments.
ReplyDeleteLove linen and it is a must in the South. I only iron my linen if I am wearing to church, wedding, or other dress up affair. I just hang after a cold water wash on delicate cycle and once dry I wear. I don't worry about wrinkles -- linen will be wrinkle the minute you put it on. In reply to the comment above, "one day it relaxes and doesn't wrinkle" is true but it has to be worn a couple of years before this happens.
ReplyDelete"one day it relaxes and doesn't wrinkle" If only my crows feet lived by this ethos. Prost!
DeleteGood cause for using linen? Oh, there are plenty! Here you are!
ReplyDeleteLinen is a fully natural, biodegradable fabric, extremely resistant to friction and stretching during daily use, becoming even stronger after each washing/drying/pressing (if so), lasting for years, decades and from old type of machines even centuries! It will never be out of fashion since it was never part of fashion really, but it will never go out of style. Wonderful for hot, humid summer, as a shirt, dress, trousers, summer-bathrobe or bed linen, as someone pointed out, best in loose fit, dried in the sun and don't worry about wrinkles, it's very stylish, it's a summer garment after all, no need to press it to perfection.
We even use non-dyed linen in the kitchen instead of paper towels. Made some clothes in paper towel sheet size and shape, to avoid chemicals from the paper when drying the fish or meat. Not to mention 100% linen yarn bandage, used always when needed instead of poliester or even cotton.
Seems I am a bit late to the game, but I adore linen. Two linen pants purchased last year worn around the house, especially now that the weather has gone into sweltering the the southern states. Located this site today. What a fun read!
ReplyDelete