We used to write a ‘reader question‘ article every time someone had an inquiry here on PS. These days, questions are answered many times in the comments, and it takes something special to get a dedicated article.
Well, this question about linens has been asked seven times in the past year by my count. So it probably deserves its own piece.
Linen jackets and linen trousers are both strong recommendations for summer, given linen’s light, cool properties. But can you wear a linen jacket and linen trousers together? Do they risk looking too similar?
The guiding rule with jacket/trouser combinations, after all, is that there should be sufficient contrast between them. You don’t want the outfit to look like a mismatched suit.
(This is a particular risk with linen, as unlike most materials the same type of the fabric works for both jackets and trousers – one reason it can be used for a ‘three way’ suit. With most the jacket version is a more open, malleable weave.)
Now some linens can obviously be worn together, because linen shirts are frequently worn with linen suits or jackets. That’s a linen shirt under a linen suit in the first image above.
The reason this is the easiest combination of linens is that the shirt will be a much lighter weight than the tailoring, and so its texture will be quite different – smaller wrinkles, more transparency, more going on in general.
Still, even here I know some prefer to wear cotton or cotton/linen shirts with their linen suits, to avoid linen and linen together. They prefer something cleaner, with greater contrast between the shirt and suit. That’s a cotton/linen shirt with the dark-green suit from Gieves & Hawkes in the second image above.
So we can see already that the question to ask is: ‘Would this outfit look better (or perhaps, would I prefer it) with more contrast between the materials?’
The first thing that creates more contrast is when the linens are markedly different in weight. A linen shirt is a lot lighter than a linen jacket, but also an 11oz linen is significantly different to a 9oz one – plus Irish linens are generally stiffer than Italian ones.
So in the first outfit above, one reason there is a lot of contrast between the brown suit and the shirt is that the suit is an Irish linen, which is rather sharper and smoother than an Italian one. The tobacco suit below that that is an Italian linen and you can see it is more rumpled and closer to a shirt texture.
You can use this when considering whether to wear a linen jacket with linen trousers – if the trousers are a heavier, sharper Irish linen and the jacket is a softer Italian one, it will help. You could even press the trousers regularly but not bother so much with the jacket.
Other, more unusual linens should be considered in the same way. My very slubby linen from de Le Cuona (above) has a lot of texture, so it’s easy to wear with anything smooth.
My Art du Lin linen, on the other hand, is hard to wear in this respect, as it manages to be both smooth and soft.
The other thing that can help two linens look different to each other is contrast, in pattern or colour. Linens are not as frequently patterned as other materials, but even a little pattern – like my Maison Hellard one – will help.
Then there’s contrast in colour – one reason cream linen trousers are so useful is that they will nearly always create strong contrast with the jacket or whatever else is worn above.
Lastly, consider other aspects of the outfit.
A tie introduces its own, different texture, and takes away attention from any similarity in linens – like the green grenadine worn with a cream-linen suit and white-linen shirt in the first image above.
A handkerchief does the same; a belt separates shirt and trousers effectively (second image); even a pair of sunglasses hooked into the open neck of a shirt is beneficial.
Having one non-linen part of the outfit makes a difference as well. Readers often ask when we cover the PS Linen Overshirts whether they can be worn with a linen shirt. The answer is yes, absolutely, even though the linens will be fairly similar in texture.
But I wouldn’t wear linen trousers too. If I could I would have just two of those three elements (shirt, overshirt, trousers) in linen, and the other in something else. High-twist wool trousers, cotton trousers, a high-twist wool polo, a cotton T-shirt: all would be good. In the image below that’s a linen shirt and linen overshirt, but brown high-twist wool trousers.
So what do I actually do, in practice?
I tend to avoid wearing a linen jacket with linen trousers, being much more likely to wear a linen jacket with wool/cotton trousers, and a wool/cotton jacket with linen trousers. Examples of cotton and wool trousers below.
When I do want to wear linen on both top and bottom, I try to minimise the similarities between them, or add other elements that create contrast elsewhere.
Last week for example, I was trying to find good ways to wear a new linen version of my Bores jacket from Chato Lufsen. It’s a biscuity herringbone, and looked particularly nice with cream-linen trousers. So I put a knitted brown T-shirt from The Anthology underneath it, added a pair of sunglasses in the breast pocket, and made sure a belt split the top and bottom.
In the end, the important thing with all these questions is to:
- be aware of the potential issue
- learn the mitigating factors
- try it on yourself to see whether you care about the issue
- mitigate it if you do; don’t if you don’t
It’s more fun if you can decide these things yourself, rather than following a rigid set of rules – but more importantly, it’s in that process of making up your own mind that real style develops. Real style is always personal.
All the images shown are from old Permanent Style articles. If anyone doesn’t know them and wants to know which article they are from, let us know in the comments below
