When do you wear linen? - YouLookFab Forum

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When do you wear linen?

Liesbeth

Veteran

I adore my new Uniqlo linen pants so much that I'm considering duplication. They are a very simple design, but it's these types that rarely fit me as intended. Yet these do, and they're inexpensive, and the cotton linen blend is sturdy and doesn't crease too much.

Still, duplicating an item that (pre-covid) I only wore on summery weekend days when it was just too cold for shorts...

Now that I work from home constantly, where for the past three weeks it's been a pretty stable not too hot and not too cold 23-26 degrees C, I live in these...

So, my question to you: do you reserve linen for hot weather exclusively and/or casual wear? Or can it be worn on a grey and chilly summer day? At the office??

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Dressing

31 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

rachylou

Veteran

Those are amazingly unwrinkled, lol

Linen *is* a +100F/37.777C thing for me. I run cold. I’d never be warm enough on a chilly day in linen. 78/26 can still be sweater weather to me.

birdie99

Those pants look fab! I’m not sure how formal your workplace is but if you wore them with a nice top and dressy accessories, they could work? Are you comfortable wearing a creased look to work (which is inevitable with linen!). I love linen tees and wear them in spring and summer here in Sydney. I wear casual linen tees as exercise gear too because they aren’t clingy, they’re breathable and I like the feel of the fabric on my skin. I find the tees don’t crease like normal linen either. Hope you enjoy your new items.

nemosmom

Veteran

Deciding whether to duplicate a piece is such a tough decision (for me anyways). Do you see yourself WFH for a while? Is your house cool enough that you would reach for these more often than just weekends? Would it look sloppy at your office compared to coworkers or the usual office dress standard?

I personally love linen until the weather (or air conditioning) becomes too cold for linen to keep me warm enough. I don't mind a bit of wrinkle, or coming across as seasonally confused. I think these look great on you and seem really versatile.

anchie

Veteran

They fit you extremely well and are not too creased, I don’t see why not. What color are you considering for duplicating? I do wear linen to the office but only on hottest summer days.

Joy

Veteran

I think you could wear linen to the office on a hot day, but I am retired. I have tried wearing linen in colder weather but it is just too airy and I run cold. So it is reserved for warm and hot weather. Linen lined with polyester is pretty warm but the fabric seems to scream summer to me.
The color of your linen pants could take them into cooler weather. White or natural linen looks more summery to me

Minaminu

Veteran

I am not sure how formal your working environment is, maybe structured clothes and a simple colour range could help. If you don't feel comfortable with duplicating, how about a skirt in the same material ? As an example, I am planning a capsule wardrobe for heatwave with clothes in linen but I am choosing items in cream and charcoal only. It is a bit extreme, but it's seldom that hot here and I want to use them to the max.

Anonymous

Just summer for me, mostly for weekends, but have worn to work too. Right now I just have one top, linen/cotton blend, its black and doesn't wrinkle like full linen does.

Bijou

Veteran

I wear linen in summer, early Autumn and late Spring. My linen items are more casual and include a linen trench which I do wear to the office. My linen items are in finds.

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Liz

Veteran

Linen for me is for hot weather only. I wear it to the office, but we're extremely casual (my coworkers are in shorts and t-shirts).

I live in a climate where our summer weather ranges from hot to extremely hot, so I have a hard time imagining what a "gray and chilly summer day" is like. But I don't think I'd wear linen for it.

Synne

Veteran

Linen is such an interesting and rich textural fabric. Who decided that it is only for summer wear? I vote linen with thermal underwear for winter, too. You look great!

Runcarla

Veteran

Not all linen is the same, and not all linen is coo! I had a linen dress that was thick, and actually too warm for hot summer, so I wore it spring and fall and the cooler summer days. You could style those trousers with a slouchy sweater on cooler days. The colour keeps it from skewing summer only, and the style is not weekend casual only either.

What colour are you considering for your second pair?

Anonymous

I've worn pure linen only in very hot weather, the style of the garment determining wether it was formal or casual, and any day in summer regardless of weather as long as I'm comfortable.

I can't presume to guess wether it would be appropriate at your office but I would like to think that it would be safe to wear combined with an item of crisper appearance.

Linen combined with cotton will often be more durable and less absorbent than cotton alone and much less wrinkly than linen alone so that might be a plus for a neat presentation.

Probably the issue is really the overall appearance of the item rather than the fabric?

Kathie

Veteran

I wear linen and linen/cotton in warm/hot weather. I wouldn't be opposed to wearing it blended with other fibers, or in thicker fabrications, if I had something like that in my closet. I do wear it to the office, but in items with some structure. And, I'm at peace with the crease! In fact, I just bought another linen dress (beige/taupe one in finds), that I plan to wear both now, working from home, and in the future. And, I'm waiting on one from Elizabeth Suzann.

Lafayette 148 New York Rhodes Illustrious Linen Shirtdress

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Liesbeth

Veteran

Rachy, wow and I thought I ran cold!

Birdie, it would probably work with a nicer top in my casual workplace, though I remember seeing someone wear linen trousers last year during a heatwave and being like 'huh, is he a hippie?' Maybe I am the worst critic ;-D. Knit linen is probably quite different in texture but I don't own any...

Nemosmom: very good point, at the office I can't even wear sandals because my feet get icy in airco. So probably wfh/weekend/abnormally hot days only. Maybe I'll just get one 'back-up' pair :).

Anchie, I'm eyeing a pinstripe navy pair actually - or traditional black.

Joy, I also find the color versatile but I'd probably run cold once I have to leave my house more often on low temps days.

Minaminu, good suggestion and great plan for you. For me, the fact that they're trousers is one of the biggest pros. Trousers are hard for me to find but with a toddler in the house I prefer thrm over dresses & skirts nearly always...

Suntiger, I don't love the crease either and these seem to do great!

Bijou, you have a very unique collection of linens that I can imagine you wearing to work in style!

Liz, haha, come to Belgium!

Synne, so you to say that :). While objectively I agree with the textural interest I myself prefer sticking to seasonal fabrics & colors (or at least color combos).

Runcarla, interesting. I have to admit that these are really the 'breezy in the heat' type, which is excellent but limits their use too. Like I told Anchie, I'm considering a navy pinstripe or a black pair. The natural shade is great too but I lack pale pants superpowers...

Phoebe, you're so right about considering the complete picture.

Kathie, those shirt dresses are great!

Anonymous

I agree that not all linen is the same and thickness, openness of the weave. colour, and styling all contribute to how warm or cool it can feel. My linen pieces are worn in every season other than winter and late fall. I have a pale blue long sleeved linen shirt that is far too warm to wear on a hot day, but perfect with jeans on a cooler day. I work in a more "creative" field , so linen is absolutely fine for work days. I really doubt I'd wear it in a more formal office setting though , unless they were pieces like those Bijou has shown above.

Your pants could easily transition seasons, and the use of a topper/third piece could be super helpful. I really like linen pants and always have at least one or two pair in my closet - navy or black for me. One thing they aren't (on my body anyways) is necessarily flattering or slimming, so I stick to a simple style and colour .

Suz

(website)

Veteran

What Carla and Lisa said re not all linen being the same...

Also, a cotton/ linen blend is often less prone to wrinkles than pure linen. Oh, and some pure linens don't wrinkle all that badly, either!

I wore a cotton linen skirt for several hours yesterday in just the kind of weather you describe -- about 16 degrees, a bit cloudy. I also have a pair of cotton linen pants I wear at home in those temps. I would definitely have worn the skirt out, but wasn't going anywhere. I tend to reserve the pants for ultra casual but that is due to the style, not the fabric -- they are jogger style.

Liesbeth

Veteran

Lisa, having a neutral pair of linen pants as a staple on hand sounds like a good idea. I also prefer simple styles, the texture in itself is interesting enough.
Suz, 16 degrees is not skirt weather for me :). Interesting, a jogger style in linen...

Roxanna

Veteran

This is interesting. I’ve always thought of linen as a very hot weather fabric - I run very cold. But others are right - I have several linen pieces in my closet that are much better suited to mid temps - darker, heavier long sleeve tunics abs skirts. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been wearing them!

Will give this a think. Maybe a linen challenge is in order...

Anonymous

My linen pants (2 right now) are both jogger styles. I doubt I'd buy a tailored linen pant with a zip and waistband .

slim cat

Veteran

I've linen/cotton pants in navy - they look less summery ( gave up the other pair in stone color - too wrinkly looking ). I think dark color is great choice for duplicating the favorite pants. The fit is pretty perfect on you!

nemosmom

Veteran

Interesting - I never considered the weights of different linen pieces... I have 3 pieces that all feel pretty similar in weight. One stripe shirt is quite a bit thicker (new this year and not yet worn). I will have to do a deeper dive!

LaPed

Veteran

I'm wearing my Uniqlo linen/cotton pants today! Mine aren't quite like the pair in Finds because mine don't have a drawstring, just a regular fly, which is hard to find on linen pants but makes them feel less like loungewear to me. I almost always wear them with a lightweight woven shirt (today it's the short-sleeve striped one in Finds), or with just a plain tank top on the weekend.

I've been thinking about duplicating these pants ever since I got them in 2016 (!!) and still haven't done it. Every summer I worry that they're going to wear out but they're still going strong.

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Sal

Veteran

I guess I wear linen in the summer and transitional seasons. I don’t own a lot though but I have a couple of linen look viscoses. It isn’t cosy for winter somehow - but there is no real why.

The Cat

Veteran

My linen items are few. I wear them in summer only. The weather doesn't have to be hot or sunny. Items like a white linen blazer and a black linen skirt are worn at the office.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Those pants look great! Might need a little cuff? I’m looking at the length. Could be the camera angle though.

They look dressy, actually. Totally fab for work. Especially in our COVID-19 world.

I wear linen in Summer. It has to be hot. Sometimes in Spring too. But it feels off to me in the Autumn or Winter unless the climate is hot.

Irina

Veteran

I wear linen pants with white cotton button down shirts or silk tops, short sleeved cotton sweaters to my office. On weekends I wear them with casual tops. Jeans, a camisole and a long sleeves sweater work for cooler days. I would switch jeans for a pair of silk pants for the office. Although our summers are short, I’m obsessed with linen. Pieces can be dressed up or down. I wore a pair of checkered linen pants with a silk long sleeved top last summer for a friend’s birthday party. Felt comfortable, sufficiently dressy but not overdressed. Light weight pieces are more casual, mid weight can be worn to an office, blazers or jackets, thicker knitwear are perfect for a transitional weather.

Cee

Veteran

Man, I haven't worn linen in a lonnnnng time !

nuancedream

Veteran

For me, linen clothing is exclusively reserved for very hot weather, which just doesn't occur too frequently in Seattle. I used to wear it a lot when I lived on the East Coast, but linen is not part of my wardrobe now.

Liesbeth

Veteran

Roxana and nemosmom, I also hadn't thought about the weight - probably because I am only drawn to summer weight linen pieces (speaking from temperate summerclimate of course). Those nineties heavy on the linen looks (probably including a tunic) don't do it for me and that's what I imagine when I think of heavier weight linen...
Lisa, I love these because of the zip and button :). Still elasticated in the back so super comfy...
Slimcat, you're right, dark colors do have an edge when itcomes to a sharper look.
LaPed, I remember you owning a similar pair. I now have two pairs of linen trousers by Uniqlo (so this last one cotton linen blend) that both seem sturdy, but I love them so much I wouldn't want to go without. The first style is no longer available this year. Maybe I can justify another pair to replace black tencel joggers that are falling apart... Btw you look great in linen!
Sal & The Cat, I don't own much either, but that's beginning to change...

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