Breathable, lightweight, fluid, textural, moisture-wicking, and chic. Not many fabrics have all of those superlatives on their CV, but linen is certainly one of them. It’s a brilliant summer fabric for all of those reasons, especially when it comes to shirts and tailoring, where it adds a casual and relaxed aesthetic to an otherwise formal garment.
How To Wear It
Let's get to the most important bit first - how to look good in linen. One of it's primary qualities is its ability to make smart silhouettes look that bit more casual (something the southern Europeans have known for centuries), hence why your first thoughts should be about tailoring. A linen suit is a summer tailoring dream, but also a really useful addition to your separates rotation.
Wyndhams Jacket |
Drawstring Trousers |
Havana Short Sleeve |
The textural finish really lends itself to being mixed and matched with other items in your wardrobe, so you're not 'just' buying a linen suit, you're also investing in myriad other styling configurations. Linen tailored trousers are especially versatile, being lightweight and looser than cotton, giving you the option to wear them with tailored jackets on the one hand, or polos and tees on the other. Plus, your footwear options are much broader since a relaxed pair of linen trousers will suit every type of dress shoe, as well as sneakers and sandals.
Theobald Jacket |
Belted Trousers |
Havana Short Sleeve |
The second most important genre for linen is shirting. The classic white linen shirt is a beast of a garment, super to easy to style with literally anything. Layer it under a linen jacket, or throw it on with a pair of swimming shorts as you mooch to the pool bar - it has an unmatched casual gravitas. The pastel tones work incredibly well on linen, too, and the slubby nature of the fabric becomes a defining feature in those pale blue, green and pink tones.
Pleated Shorts |
Pleated Shorts Clement |
Pleated Shorts |
Shorts are another excellent style outlet for linen, especially the tailored style. Not only do they feel very lightweight and comfortable, but they offer a certain tailored sophistication that you can once again dress up or down as you see fit.
Cuban Short Sleeve |
Pleated Trousers |
Havana Short Sleeve |
Hard to Produce, Easy to Wear
Linen can be temperamental from a manufacturing point of view since every roll of the cloth often seems to have its own personality and quirks, which makes the process of designing linen garments that are perfectly consistent in size and cut quite difficult. We can’t always guarantee that the product we designed and sampled is going to be perfectly replicated in the collection, and while that can be frustrating, we know that it’s a quality of linen that we’re happy to roll with, because it's such a stunning fabric.
Milford Jacket |
Milford Jacket |
Milford Jacket |
Sustainable Style
Linen is also one of the most sustainable natural fibres, with the vast majority of flax crops from where it is derived, irrigated with rain water. Above all we love the texture of the cloth and the inimitable crumpled finish it gets when wearing it, allowing for a relaxed and carefree look.
From the suits and blazers we have created using linen, to the multitude of lightweight jackets and shirts, the fabric provides a sophisticated yet ultimately casual element to a modern wardrobe. It also makes for brilliant cotton blends that are soft and lightweight, which this season we have used in the construction of some of our knitwear.
 Cuban Short Sleeve Shirt Clement Chambray Blue |
Milton Jacket |
Drawstring Trousers |
Love the Crumple
It’s a soft and supple fabric with a ‘dry’ handle. The reason why it creases so easily when you wear it is down to the chemical make-up of the cellulose of the flax fibres, in which hydrogen bonds are left by evaporated moisture, resulting in wrinkles. Some cloths will invariably crease more than others but you can be guaranteed that linen will always have some degree of sophisticated crumple to it. Linen is a fabric that also ages beautifully, particularly when applied to tailoring. Over time, a linen blazer will form to the contours of your torso, creating a very natural drape and a flattering silhouette.
Roxwell Knitted Jacket |
Drawstring Trousers |
Double Breasted |
A Unique Proposition
The same style of shirt in cotton may fit slightly differently to the linen version, so that’s why we recommend always checking the sizing chart. We don’t use generic sizing charts like many other brands - every single product is measured up at the quality control stage and is noted for any aberrations in sizing, which in turn will be communicated on the sizing chart. Moreover, if you’re unsure about a linen garment, or perhaps how a certain size is fitting on model, don’t hesitate to drop us an email or give us a call and we can advise you on the best size to take.