Does anyone else find linen trousers uncomfortable in very hot weather?

[CateyeKate]

I found last summer's heatwave very difficult to deal with. I'm menopausal, can't tolerate extremes of weather and take a medication which makes heat intolerance even harder to cope with.

So over the winter and spring I spent some money on loose fitting cotton tops and linen wide legged trousers as everything I googled says linen was one of the best fabrics to wear during extreme hot weather. It also said viscose so I purchased one pair of 100% viscose Palazzo pants.

Well, thank god for the latter because I have found all the linen trousers to be anything but cooling, I may as well wear a pair of jeans. Even the thinner ones are uncomfortable and sticky. I'm finding myself wearing the viscose ones all the time and changing into very thin cotton PJ's as soon as I get home.

Does anyone else find linen uncomfortable in the heat? The trousers are all 100% linen and fairly thin fabrics so not sure what went wrong.

I live in a climate that is very hot for 6 months of the year and often hot the remainder. I don't care for pure linen. I don't like the rumpled look, and for linen to have any structure it has to be thicker, which I find to be hot. My preference for everyday wear is cotton. I do have some pieces that are a linen cotton blend and these are fairly comfortable and don't wrinkle as much as pure linen.

I have lyocell wide leg trousers which are beautifully cool to wear. Any linen I have is viscose/linen mix, which I find cool. Woven viscose (as opposed to knitted t-shirt type viscose) I find very cool.

Silk makes me boiling hot 🥵

I think they vary. I have some from M&S with a drawstring waist that are lovely and cool. I also have some from Next, which seem thicker and not so nice to wear when it's really hot.

Try washing them a few times before wearing again - just keep sticking them in with other dirty laundry. I think linen needs to be pumelled a bit to soften up and get comfortable! My fave linen garments are my oldest.

I don’t think linen has to be thicker to have any structure. I think the structure depends on the weave. My floppiest, most rumply linen jacket (which I like) is a heavy linen in a very loose weave.

I have linen which is perfect in normal UK summer and linen which is ok in high heat which I bought in Germany and the US. I can't tell why they are different, but I cook over 22C in the UK brand linens.
Very light cotton is my favourite, viscose I keep shrinking but its great until then!

It seems to vary by brand and product, I find a lot of 100% linens itchy. Prefer 100% cotton.

I agree with a PP that Uniqlo used to have some nice linen clothes but their quality is questionable now. I have 2 pairs of the same Uniqlo linen trousers in different colours, one is itchy and the other lovely and soft.

I'm with you on the viscose, it's generally a nice light, drapey fabric. I think people often assume it's plastic like polyester but it isn't.

I like viscose too. Viscose/linen blends can be great. But you definitely need lighter weight linen in this weather and then it can end up transparent.

Yes, I find pure linen too thick, scratchy and hot. I like a viscose linen mix, and have also got wide leg trousers in pure viscose or viscose polyester mix which are lovely and light to wear.

I love linen

just tricky to iron

Yes linen can be a nightmare with chub rub, it can be scratchy especially on seams, if your skin is sensitive you can get nasty chafing!

Also linen trousers are often drawstring which is my most hated and unflattering form of fastening.

no I feel cooler in linen - ironing softens it.

There are different weights of linen. I’ve got a dozen different linen trousers, all different thicknesses

I love linen and have quite a lot but I don’t find it the coolest in hot weather. I sometimes prefer a line mix (with viscose) where the material is thinner.

I wear loose linen trousers and shirts - can’t bear tight fitting clothes in the heat. Yes these may be a bit crumpled but at least I am not a hot sweaty mess .

i prefer lawn cotton or muslin for when it is really hot. agree with the advice to wash and wash linen to soften it up. i chucked my linen trousers in with each wash until they went nice and soft but i find them too warm in the hotter weather.

I find any trousers uncomfortable in this weather. I’m very much a “dress girl” anyway, l love my dresses.

ln addition, l go against the grain anyway, l loathe linen and its screwed up creased look.

Nothing is comfy in this weather. I considered staying naked this morning… but someone’s bound to want a teams call so I did dress.

i find linen a bit heavy and scratchy too. I prefer midi or maxi dresses in really warm weather; better airflow/ventilation!

I’ve got some linen that feels thicker than others and I don’t wear in the heat

Linen cotton blend stuff from Uniqlo is good

I really like cotton tee shirt dresses; I sometimes size up one size so that they just skim the body.

@GettingbysomehowHow do you find the sizing particularly roominess of the top please? I have big boobs and have had to send Roman items back in the past

No, but linen can be quite a coarse material, depending, I suppose, on the fineness of the fibres, and their length. You sometimes see linen glass-cloths for drying up glasses, and they feel rougher than cotton.

In my limited experience, in more costly garments it is usually blended with other fibres, which makes it more comfortable and also less creased. By chance I'm sitting here with a recent purchase, a jacket made of linen and cotton, which has more the feel of wool, but is lighter. I use a steamer to drop the creases out.

Much prefer cotton and viscose, even have a very soft denim dress that is lovely to wear in this heat. My only linen is linen bedding and that's warm!