# Linen suit?



## The Other Andy (Jan 9, 2008)

Maybe I am just someone who naturally rumples their clothes, but every time I wear linen I end up looking like crap.

Who here wears linen suits? How do you pull it off without excessive wrinkling? Are there any tricks I'm missing? I love the idea of linen, and since I work a lot in Central America where it is hot and humid nearly all the time, I could definitely use some "cooler" suits (temperature wise  )

Any tips or ideas are greatly appreciated.


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## Bob Loblaw (Mar 9, 2006)

Wrinkling is part of the character of the fabric. If you are wrinkle-adverse you might be better off with some other material.


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## cpac (Mar 25, 2005)

The Other Andy said:


> How do you pull it off without excessive wrinkling?


by redefining what "excessing wrinkling" is.

As Bob said, it's part of wearing linen, and you should embrace it.


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## Tonyp (May 8, 2007)

Also if you buy a quality linen suit from a higher end manf. you will have less wrinkles. I wear linen jackets to work in the spring and summer all the time. of course I touch them up with an iron first. The pants will wrinkle that is always going to happen,but that is the look. If you don't want wrinkles wear tropical weight wool or cotton poplin.


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## s4usea (Jul 10, 2007)

The Other Andy said:


> Maybe I am just someone who naturally rumples their clothes, but every time I wear linen I end up looking like crap.
> 
> Who here wears linen suits? How do you pull it off without excessive wrinkling? Are there any tricks I'm missing? I love the idea of linen, and since I work a lot in Central America where it is hot and humid nearly all the time, I could definitely use some "cooler" suits (temperature wise  )
> 
> Any tips or ideas are greatly appreciated.


Oscar Wilde said that only the truly stylish can pull off wrinkes...

That said, the heavier the weight the linen, the less it'll wrinkle, but unless you're willing to have them made it's probably not much of an option.

As for me, I embrace it. No tie, no socks, throw in some spezzatura to make people think I'm Itialian or French. I'm told it's very 1940's Cairo, and have had random women say I look like a movie star. Try it....


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## omairp (Aug 21, 2006)

I don't think linen from higher-end mfr.'s is any more wrinkle resistant than any other linen. Perhaps you're thinking of irish linen which is a bit heavier and doesn't wrinkle as much, although not very common. 

You just have to accept that linen wrinkles like crazy. If you want something that doesn't wrinkle as much, try a linen/cotton or linen/silk blend.


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## dfloyd (May 7, 2006)

*What movie star do you look like?*

Sydney Greenstreet, maybe? He's the only one I've ever seen who looked good in linen. Possibly because a white suit on him detracted from his stupendous girth.


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## manuduenas (Sep 16, 2007)

Bob Loblaw said:


> Wrinkling is part of the character of the fabric.


I wear a lot of linen suits and Sportcoats in summer and I've never had a problem or a comment about the wrinkling. Actually I kind of like the look if it's a liitle (note: not excessive) wrinkled, it adds a casual touch.

manuduenas


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## Will (Jun 15, 2004)

Linen comes in a range of weights. A suit made from the light stuff (8 ounces) will crease shortly after you put it on. The heavy variety (13-14 ounces) rumples rather than wrinkles. It's still distinctive but most men are less likely to find it objectionable.

Unfortunately, to get the heavier material you'll have to have it made up. It's not found on the rack.


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## Preu Pummel (Feb 5, 2008)

I assume heavier linen is also warmer, which negate the real utility of linen in a suit. My suggestion - get it, love it, and wrinkle like a pro. If you get some kind of linen/poly mix it might help wrinkles, assuming they make suits like that, but why bother? Go trad linen and learn to love it.


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## meister (Oct 29, 2005)

Tonyp said:


> Also if you buy a quality linen suit from a higher end manf. you will have less wrinkles. I wear linen jackets to work in the spring and summer all the time. of course I touch them up with an iron first. The pants will wrinkle that is always going to happen,but that is the look. If you don't want wrinkles wear tropical weight wool or cotton poplin.


Exactly! I like the heavier weight Irish linen (10 oz) and have a few of these I bought on Landsend on sale made in Nicaragua. I also bought a Paul Frederick Belgian Delave suit which rumples more but on very hot Sydney days is wonderful to wear.


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## Gurdon (Feb 7, 2005)

I wear linen suits and especially like the fact that they are supposed to wrinkle. And, they are perfect for spectators!

Regards,
Gurdon


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

The Other Andy said:


> Maybe I am just someone who naturally rumples their clothes, but every time I wear linen I end up looking like crap.
> 
> Who here wears linen suits? How do you pull it off without excessive wrinkling? Are there any tricks I'm missing? I love the idea of linen, and since I work a lot in Central America where it is hot and humid nearly all the time, I could definitely use some "cooler" suits (temperature wise  )
> 
> Any tips or ideas are greatly appreciated.


Perhaps what you need to change is not your clothes but how you view them. For example, rather than describing wrinkled linen as looking "like crap", you could begin to describe it as looking "comfortably casual". How you talk about something definitely influences how you think about it. If, for some reason you are unwilling to do this, then simply forget about wearing linen and go to tropical weight wool. It's about as cool as linen and is much less likely to wrinkle.


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## damon54 (Dec 12, 2007)

If your dry cleaners is up to the challenge or you have the ability to self-steam I say go for it.

I had a really nice cotton Suit & my Dry Cleaners ruined it inside of a year.


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## Baxter (Feb 1, 2008)

I bought a linen/cotton mix suit last summer and find it wrinkles less than pure linen but just enough to give it character. The mix also creates an interesting two-tone effect - my suit is a kind of deep bronze colour - and the fabric also seems to 'recover' well between wearings.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

*It's simple, really.*

If you don't want the wrinkles, don't buy the linen suit.


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## Concordia (Sep 30, 2004)

Preu Pummel said:


> I assume heavier linen is also warmer, which negate the real utility of linen in a suit.


Not objectionably so. I have a 12-14oz suit with an unlined back, and it deals pretty well with the blast furnace that is NYC in July. Part of the trick is that linen has a somewhat open weave to let air through, and it also absorbs humidity gracefully no matter what the weight.


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## Fastnbulbous (Feb 20, 2008)

*Linen was perfect for Riviera Maya*

I had to get a linen suit by the first week of March for a wedding in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. A tough task in Chicago, as almost no one was stocking them yet. Don't they have any customers who travel to warm climates?

I tried on a Versace for $1,300 and it just didn't seem worth it. Linen is linen. I ended up spending only $270 at The Mister Shop at the Harlem Irving Plaza, including tailoring. My only complaint was the jacket was a bit boxy for my taste, but since I was only going to wear it once, I wasn't going to be bothered. The hotel steamed it for me, so most of the wrinkles from folding into a suitcase were gone. It didn't get wrinkly until the drinking started on the beach, which was fine. It was about 88 degrees and sunny, and I was totally comfortable.

I scoped out a nice linen shirt with a Cooper collar (named after the actor Gary Cooper, designed so no there's no seam in the inside so it looks good worn open without a tie) at Paul Stuart in February, but when I went to get it in March they raised the price from $150 to $200. Ridiculous. I ended up getting one for $40 at The Territory Ahead, a Brazilian based store in Water Tower.

I bought some Stacy Adams sandals to go with it. They seemed cheesy to me at first -- I think Snoop Dogg wears 'em. But they grew on me, and family and friends seemed to like them.

I've got another suit from Alexandre Savile Row to wear at the five other weddings I have to go to between April and June. I'm not sure what kind of occasion I'd wear the linen for again, but I'd like to, maybe with a different shirt.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I've always thought the rumpled look of linen was a bit much for an entire suit. I have several pairs of linen pants that I love for the summer. I actually prefer them to jeans. I also had an unstructured linen sport coat that I wore with jeans back when the rumpled look was a fad (late 80's?). But I don't think I'd wear a linen jacket and pants at the same time.


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## petro (Apr 5, 2005)

The Other Andy said:


> Maybe I am just someone who naturally rumples their clothes, but every time I wear linen I end up looking like crap.


If it's a 42 to 44 regular, I can solve that problem for you.



> Who here wears linen suits? How do you pull it off without excessive wrinkling? Are there any tricks I'm missing? I love the idea of linen, and since I work a lot in Central America where it is hot and humid nearly all the time, I could definitely use some "cooler" suits (temperature wise  )
> 
> Any tips or ideas are greatly appreciated.


If you need to look sharp in a damp hot climate look at the tropical weight wools like "fresco" or something from Brooks Brother "Brookscool" line.


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

*Linen Suits in Movies*

DFLOYD probably cannot see beyond Sydney Greenstreet, or through him. Gregory Peck in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Spencer Tracy in INHERIT THE WIND and Clark Gable in GONE WITH THE WIND wore white linen suits, just to name a few. And if you got to Lexington Kentucky in summer for races at the Red Mile or Louisville, the seats give your jacket the same wrinkles as all the other men.


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## tel star (Jul 26, 2006)

For the last couple of summers I've gone into a rotation of a couple of linen jackets for work. Recently, the weather in England briefly became more Spring-like and I dug them out. I like them and they're comfortable. However, this year I cannot cope with the wrinkling and creasing - so they're going! I'm just going to stick with lightweight suits in wool and be done with it. I hate spending good money on clothes only to find I look dishevelled. Somebody who saw me in the linen for the few days the weather was good said, 'You need to iron that jacket'. I was annoyed because, deep down, I don't like the creased look and I sort of agreed. Off they go ....

I do believe that a linen/cotton mix would crease less, but would also be warmer.


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