How to wear linen without looking like a crumpled heap?

[HotCrossBungle]

Is it possible? I want to waft around in crisp white linen rather than looking like an ironing pile 10 minutes after putting it on.

Is it to do with the quality of the linen and if so how does one buy 'quality' linen when it just states 100 percent linen on the label?

Is it to do with some kind of treatment after washing, starching maybe or washing/drying in a particular way?)

Also why is linen sometimes lined with a synthetic material, doesn't that defeat the purpose of keeping you cool?

I have never understood the passion for linen for the very reasons you mention
Looking like I have thrown on a dishrag thats been crushed to bits is not the look I am aiming for
There is no way linen can stay crisp and crease less
An impossible feat

If you buy linen from Zara or other fast fashion shops it is very poor quality and is thin and wrinkles and looks horrible. I have linen shirts from J Crew where the linen is from Ireland and dresses from Toast which is also heavier material. Whilst it still wrinkles it looks fine and hangs way better than the cheaper kind.

Good quality linen will go beautifully soft and drapes with use. Agree that it hugely depends on the shop.

I do use a starch ironing spray to help it stay a bit stiffer for longer.

My guess is you're not wafting properly ... no bending your arms too much and absolutely no sitting!

Yep, put it on, strike a pose..don't move!

It's just not possible for me, I look like a tattered lettuce three minutes after putting something linen on.
Also the slightest smudge of make up, hand cream, crumbs from lunch etc make horrible greasy stains, I am a little clumsy but linen accentuates me looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards whilst cleaning a child's dirty face with my skirt.
I would love to be a swishy linen wearer but sadly I don't have the ability. Good luck OP

The linen from J Crew and Toast - what makes it better than Zara linen if it is all labelled as linen? Is it to do with the way it is weaved together - what is it that determines quality. This is what I'm trying to work out. What makes one linen better than another?

The better quality linen will be thicker, heavier and far more opaque.

The problem is, once you’ve seen the good stuff it’s difficult to go back!

Linen used to be a luxury fabric and very expensive. I don't know what they did to bring the price down but vintage (pre 1980s/1970s) linen is much, much heavier; it still creases but doesn't go saggy or lose it's shape. You can still get it second hand. The only modern linen I have that's similar quality is a Margaret Howell shirt I found in a charity shop.

J Crew do a collaboration with

www.bairdmcnuttirishlinen.com/

It's excellent quality. You can still buy good quality linen but not from the cheaper end of the high street.

All linen fabric is not the same, just in the way that all cotton fabric is not the same. Different thickness, weave etc.
I'd also say to avoid things that are too smart or tailored looking as then you kind of expect them to look smart, and it seems 'wrong' when they wrinkle.

Good linen I've found recently - Oska, Flax, Linen Fox, Love and Squalor

Thanks for that link Zara I have some Irish linen fabric that I bought in a mill shop just before lockdown and it's lovely stuff.

Yesterday I was wearing another charity shop linen shirt (no label but probably early 80s) and raving about it on another thread. But it would have cost a bomb at the time.

Linen was a big industry in Ireland last century but v expensive. Now it comes mainly from abroad with much lower quality

Spend as much as you can afford on heavy quality linen , its absolutely beautiful and very different to cheap high street linen.
Its similar to Supermarket cashmere.
You get what you pay for.
Cheap linen is very thin and creases badly, good quality linen hangs well and drapes.

Floisme no problem. After watching the video clip on their page I want to visit them. They are located in a beautiful part of Ireland.

I agree it's worth the expense of having beautiful materials. I just bought a cotton seersucker summer dress. The mill is based in Italy and the quality is excellent.

Iron the item well, lay out and then twist very tightly in one direction, shake and then twist the other way. Shake out and twist the other way, shake out then iron lightly.
This way you control the creases so they run mainly vertically (flattering) as opposed to looking like a sack.
You look a little bit scruffier at the start of the day but by lunchtime you are smarter than other linen wearers.

Moygashel linen is the name I remember, growing up. There's a poster whose family worked for them - I can't remember her name but if she's on here or following.

I had a black linen dress bought from East nearly thirty years ago and it was amazing quality and actually very heavy and thick, almost like leather!

I actually prefer cheap-ish linen. I know the very tightly woven expensive stuff that some posters are describing but it's quite hot and itchy. The almost translucent stuff might crease but the creases also drop out quite quickly because it is so fine. And it's so cool on hot days. I live in linen trousers and shirts or tees during the summer - mainly from high street stores.

Why would you want to, it has the most horrible texture!

the very tightly woven expensive stuff that some posters are describing but it's quite hot and itchy.

Mine certainly isn't hot and itchy. I work in the Middle East and wear it all summer.

It's down to the weight of the fabric. So I had on a pair of Boden linen trousers yesterday that I put back on the hanger and are hard,y creased but a top which is lightweight needs to be washed and ironed before I can wear it again

Btw fat face had a collaboration with Baird McNutt Irish Linen in 2018. I had a lovely pair of trousers

Side story - I was at an interview years ago, years ago, and there was quite a delay getting to the candidates. We were all hanging around waiting, in a hot and sweaty waiting area. One poor woman had this most beautiful linen suit on. She wouldn't/couldn't sit down for the crumpled mess fear. I think of her every time I look at linen.

This thread is making me seek out quality linen.