Minor Epiphany: I'm not at peace with the linen crease or wrinkling in general. - YouLookFab Forum

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Minor Epiphany: I'm not at peace with the linen crease or wrinkling in general.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I realized yesterday when I was choosing which jacket to wear that one of my knit blazers didn't feel right because it is *always* wrinkled. I'm not into ironing in my casual, sometimes RATE style but at the same time I don't like wearing things that look wrinkled either. Distressed fabric is okay to me, whereas really wrinkled is just not. This particular blazer is a cotton knit that wrinkles like crazy. Ironing really doesn't help.

Prior to this I was blaming it on the style thinking maybe the blazer part was what was wrong. But then it dawned on me, that if it hadn't been for the wrinkling, I would have been fine with it. I tried on a thicker knit blazer (with 2% synthetic blended in), and sure enough the blazer style was fine. The color happened to be wrong for the outfit, but the realization was made. I instead chose my slightly heavier weight, mixed fabric moto knit blazer and felt great in it - not just because it wasn't a blazer, but because it wasn't wrinkled and felt "neater."

I didn't think "neat" was so important to me, but apparently it is.

This made me also think about why I hadn't reached much for my linen last summer. I *thought* I was at peace with the crease, but it turns out that I'm not so much. I will wear my navy linen button down because with the darker fabric wrinkling is less obvious, but my 100% linen taupe blouse got little wear last year. 100% linen may have to be limited to at the pool or at the lake wear for me. I have some cotton/linen blends that aren't quite as bad for wrinkling.

Going forward I think I may need to rethink linen and certain cotton knit purchases overall, because it's clear now that this is something that keeps me from wearing them. I prefer natural fabrics, but if I'm buying things that I don't wear, I'm being wasteful. So I may need to have a small amount of synthetic blended in some things - esp. jackets that require structure - to make them work and last for me.

Just thought I'd share in case it might help out some others.

Dressing

20 replies

Latest reply was from texstyle

Adelfa

Veteran

I know what you mean! I always thought of myself as casual and a little RATE but I can't do wrinkles either! That was one of my hints that I want more polish in my style than I thought I did.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Adelfa - yes, it's funny how something so minor can make you really realize what direction you want to head in your style. So I guess I do want a bit of polish with my jeans and tees/button downs.

Summer

Veteran

I don't really have a problem with linen creases, despite my general preference for neatness. The only time I wear linen is when it's really hot, and by then I'm happy to sacrifice a little perfection for feeling blissfully cool. Having said that, there are some wonderful linen mixes out there now, and I shall be looking out for those when I'm next shopping for linen.

Anonymous

I simply can't abide wrinkles, which is why I don't wear linen. I don't wear anything that's distressed, either.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

summer - my summers are like 7 months of the year and mostly hot, hot hot. Which is why I've purchased several things in linen and linen blends. But many of them are just too much wrinkle for me to enjoy - even in the heat. And sometimes the linen is stiff feeling. I can't stand that! Cotton/silk blends feel just as cool if not cooler to me and are often much softer, but hard to find. Light slub cotton gets a lot of wear from me as well - but it's not as polished as the silk/cotton blends.

bettycrocker - I don't like distressed up top much - though I did buy and enjoy a chambray button down that is definitely a distressed look. See finds. I also don't mind distressed jeans if it's not too much - though I've seen some beautifully done heavily distressed jeans - I'm not sure I could feel confident wearing them. I will only wear one distressed item per outfit though - I think it's a balance definitely.

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Big Star 'Alex' Distressed Stretch Skinny Jeans (20-Year Harbor) (Petite)

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unfrumped

Veteran

I'm right with you.
Will not buy major linen. Blends can give the linen vibe but less wrinkles, though not always "no wrinkles".
Same is true for some pure cotton, and pure rayon --I'm not gonna iron.
My mother was queen of the blend, when "PermaPressed" was just coming out. She taught me a lot about.evaluating fabrics for washing, wrinkling.
There are a lot of alternatives to pure synthetics. polyester, but can be hard to find. After a heyday of poly-cotton blends the pendulum swung over to "pure cotton" and so forth.

Knit blazers I've enjoyed are pretty wrinkle-free and maybe that's due to a little stretch in the blend?

barbaraq

As a sewer of my own clothes, I find I can tolerate linen if I prewash the fabric in the roughest way possible. Hot water, extra heavy cycle, and hot setting in the dryer. Two cycles and it acquires a tumbled, textured effect, plus it is shrink-proof. For me, the wrinkles are then acceptable. This treatment also works best if the fabric is a darker color, less prone to show wrinkles.

Maybe you can duplicate this by buying ready-made garments in a too-big size? But always guess work about shrinkage...

deb

Veteran

I am with you on this. Woven linen drives me crazy.

rachylou

Veteran

I'm totally RATE and never iron. I like rumpled for myself and don't mind it on others... but then there's 'rumpled' and then there's 'crumpled.' I hate linen for that reason.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I'm with you. I've never been much of a fan of woven linen, especially in pants or skirts, because the creases end up going right across my widest point. Just not a good look. I like a little RATE, but linen is not the right kind for me.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

barbaraq - I may have to try that heavy wash technique with one of my linen shirts. It is rather big and just not as soft as I wished. At this point, it's either do something or pass it on.

rachylou - yes, slightly rumpled is one thing, you're so right.

janet - yes, the wrinkles never seem to do me justice either. I don't really love to wear horizontal stripes either - maybe it's a similar reason on what it draws attention to. I actually don't mind the one vertical blue and white linen top I have - except that it kind of feels "train conductor" when I wear it so I have to be in that mood.

crutcher

Veteran

Wrinkled linen is so in for me...I love the mussed up worn and enjoyed and let's do summer look of a navy linen blazer that is just minimally wrinkled...
Try with just a few wrinkles and see how you make it...I will bet when you really get into it , you will enjoy the wrinkled look, too..
smile...

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

crutcher - regarding the wrinkled linen, I think it has to do with how I feel when wearing it. Just not myself. I see it on others and think it looks great. Which is what led me to buying it. I can't really do the linen blazer (although of course I did buy one just to prove myself wrong) - I think it's just too warm here in S/S to bother with an added layer - and then you have to take it off and it gets wrinkled even more in the backseat of the car, etc.

I realize it works great for some, just my own style epiphany I guess.

crutcher

Veteran

texstyle...I reread and I think I understand where you are coming from...I hate to see you have to iron...If you don't feel good in wrinkled...hey, don't wear it...I totally support and vote for that...smile...

retailgirl

Veteran

I like linen and have gotten used to wrinkles but only in tops, blouses or jackets. Not in pants! If I wear a linen blouse or shirt, I know it'll wrinkle and I don't care, it'll go in the wash, I'll iron it and wear it again. With linen jackets, I hang them up in the car to minimize wrinkling. I hate wrinkled pants, though...if it's a casual outfit, OK, but not for work. That's why I look for pants in wool gab or tropical wool...the wrinkles hang right out.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

That's a great thing to understand about yourself. Most of my shopping mistakes have come from not taking notice of how I feel in things.

I LOVE linen I love how it feels & the wrinkles don't bother me now. When I worked only wore it at week ends - I didn't wear it to work.

Helenedith

I love wearing linen and the wrinkles don't bother me, as long as I am not going for a dressier vibe. I recently wore a linen shirt to work and felt underdressed all day. So linen is for casual wear for me

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Linen softens up after you wash it a few times, and seems to wrinkle less too. I used to have some older linen shirts that were fabulous - because they had been washed enough that they were pretty bulletproof.

But I can understand not wanting to hope that that would someday happen. I feel that way about suede shoes. They're cute and you can either take care of them fussily or let them get RATE, neither of which option works for me. So recently I've just avoided them entirely.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I have a fairly RATE style for my day-to-day outfits, but lately don't ever wear linen. It's just too high maintenance and I hate to iron. I have a few Tencel tops, and I don't plan on buying any more of these, because although they wrinkle less than linen, the wrinkling/ironing still gets in the way of frequent wearing.

I don't notice bothersome wrinkling on my knits. A couple minutes in the dryer (or fully drying on low) followed by immediate removal, then hanging or careful folding -- is enough for me.

Having said these probably obvious things, sometimes a garment just lets you down. It sounds like the wrinkly jacket has issues. No matter the price, there are frustrating fails from time to time.

Finally -- I am a big fan of blends. A bit of synthetic can mean a garment washes well, if it's not a cheap blend.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

For someone who hates ironing, I'm surprised a little that wrinkling
bothers me. I think partly it's because I have been meeting more people
in person for business reasons lately and I'm more aware of wanting to
look polished, even if it's casual polish.

Some good linen does soften up with washing and I have at least one shirt that meets that criteria. Best in spring, not summer - here with the very high heat of summer (you can't help but sweat if you spend more than five minutes outdoors) and the wrinkling combined, it just ends up feeling less than fresh and polished. Linen dries quickly, but once it gets damp and then dries again, the heavy creases become sort of "pressed" into place - especially in the back where you've been sitting against a chair.

Cocolion - I think the wrinkling with knits is not as common. I'm not sure why the one blazer style I have is such a wrinkle mess. I have ironed it but within minutes of wearing it, it starts looking just like it did before! It's weird. Most of my knits are okay. Some of my cotton tees do wrinkle from sitting in the car or from the seat belt which also bugs me.