Linen Time

Summer is when the linen suit comes into its own and I must say that the stuff is considerably more wearable than it is usually given credit for. Yes, it rumples a bit over the course of a day, but much less so than cotton and people do not seem to object to the wrinkled seersucker suits seen in offices across the American South. And linen has a couple of advantages over the alternatives.

Two of the better things about linen are that it is soft, much more comfortably soft than the high twist cloths or mohairs of my acquaintance, and handles perspiration well. Where cotton soaks through and can make the wearer look like he has recently emerged from a bathing pool, linen wicks moisture away quickly enough so that the wearer is more likely to look like he is accustomed to the tropics. This is a good thing.

Linen in fact is so good for the season that a man should have as much of it as he can justify. Two linen suits are about the right number if they are to be worn principally on weekends and holidays but men of leisure may have more. And if one is to have two, so to speak, I like mustard, like the suit in the photo, as well as mid-blue. Cream of course is a classic but it tends to show dirt more than the other hues, and a suit that's at the cleaners does no-one but the cleaner any good.

Irish linen of appropriate weight (14 ounces or 420 grams) is available from both Holland & Sherry and Scabal among others. That may seem a bit heavy the first time the uninitiated put it on, but the weight is unnoticed after a minute or two. Have it buggy or quarter lined, with patch pockets. Of course, a suit begun now will be ready after the season is over unless one lives in the Antipodes, but taking winter delivery of a linen suit is probably justification enough for a winter cruise to the tropics or a quick cigar run to Havana. Metaphorically speaking of course.

But, back to today. It is linen time.