Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In our series, fabric explained today.
We discuss linen, the quintessential summer fabric.
Linen fabric, derived from the
Flax plant; the oldest cultivated plant known to men. The flax plants Latin name
is Linum Usitatissumum and from that, the word linen was derived.
Archaeological evidence was found in a cave in Georgia, the country not the
state, that they expect 34,000 years. Around 3000 BC,
Mesopotamians mastered the cultivation of the Flax plant and they used it to
create ropes, threads, and even clothing out of it. At that time, it was a luxury and
as such it was reserved for the wealthier classes including priests. The
same was true in ancient Egypt were linen fabric was a symbol for status and
wealth. For example, their pharaohs were mummified in linen or flax fabric. It's
also referenced in their Bible many times and from the Middle East, it spread
to Asia and Europe. Romans and Greeks believed that linen was a sign of purity
and royalty. Around 700 AD in France, linen was used as a sanitary fabric and
because of it became more popular throughout Europe especially in places
like Ireland where it became a thriving trade. To this day, Irish linen is often
referenced as a hallmark of quality for linen. If you want to know if countries
of origins matter, please check out this video here. So why was linen so popular?
Well, it has always been a strong and sturdy fabric and so it was used in many
industries. Just think of books, table cloths, bed linens, canvases,
upholstery and so forth. Over the course of the last hundred years, linen has gotten
a lot of competition from things like cotton, wool or cashmere but also
artificial fibers such as viscose. Today, more and more people are becoming
interested in London again not just because of its strength and longevity
but also because of its eco-friendliness. We'll talk more about this
environmental impact of linen later in the video. So what are the
characteristics of linen and why it's such a great fabric for clothing and
accessories? First of all, it is stronger, more durable and also more lustrous than
for example cotton and if you want to learn more about that fabric check out
this video here. It is also quite crisp and absorbent and it's typically where
it's rather cool because the weave is a little looser than most cotton or wool
fabrics. Because of that, linen fabric usually feels more porous and a lot of
people appreciate its heat and moisture-wicking abilities. On top of that, you
won't have any problems with pilling because the fibers are very long or
ain't have aesthetic which you might experience with polyester or other
artificial fibers. Typically high quality flax fibers are between 18 and 30 inches
long and while it makes them durable, it also means they're not very likely to
relax which means linen is a very wrinkly fabric. Unlike the wrinkles in
cotton which makes you look a bit more frumpy, the really pronounced
characteristic wrinkles of linen are a sign of a sophisticated casual style.
Because linen is absorbent, it also takes dye very easily and it typically comes
in many different colors. Because linen doesn't stretch much naturally, it pays
to have garments to cut a little wider. But when you do that, over time the
fabric becomes softer and you'll cherish a garment even more. So how exactly is
linen made? Well it all starts with a flax plant which is mostly cultivated in
Europe these days in places like France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, or Ireland.
Of course, flax is also cultivated in other countries such as Canada or China
but most people would consider the European flax to be the best for a
high-quality linen fabric. Now the process from a flax plant to a linen
fabric is actually quite complicated. The flax is typically harvested after a
hundred days of growth. Harvesting flax is a delicate process because it has to
be uprooted rather than just being cut. Why? Well, if the stock is cut you'll have
some SAP, which impacts the fibers negatively. It used to be done all by
hand and was labor-intensive. Today, it can be done by machines.
In a second step, the plants were rippled which meant the seeds were removed. The
next up is Retting, which means that you leave the Flax plant on the field where
they experience the elements such as rain and sun. That makes the outside bark
loosen up which makes the flax plant ready for the next step in linen
production. This next step is called Scutching. There, you will take the dried
Flax stalks and put them into a flax break where it would crush the inside
part of the flax leaving the flax fiber exposed. These small broken pieces are
called Shives and they were traditionally now removed during the
scutching process which meant that you had two pieces of wood and you basically
get out all the residual bark from the fibers. Today, all of this is done by a
scutching machine with rotating paddles removing all the shives neatly and just
leaving the nice flax fibers. Because flax is a natural material, fibers have
different lengths but for linen production, you only want the long fibers.
And to get those, you had to traditionally comb the fibers so the
short ones would stick in the comb and you were leftover with a long good ones.
Of course, the flax common process is now also all done by machines and the result
is better and faster. In the next step, the blonde hair like 18 to 30-inch long flex
fibers are then spun into a yarn. The yarn is then reeled on spools and they go
through a hot water bath which ensures a cohesive yarn and it lends the yarn some
shine. The finished yarn reels are wound into bobbins and then they can be used
for weaving fabric. The weaving of linen is very similar to other fabrics such as
wool, silk, or cotton. So before you actually weave the fabric, the Flax yarn
is inspected for moisture content, tensile strength, cohesion, and color
consistency. The yarn bobbins are made into warp beans which can be up to 10
kilometers or 6 miles long. Traditionally, linen was handwoven
in a very slow mechanical process. Today, you have high-speed looms that create
fabric pretty quickly. Just like with any woven fabric, they're inspected
afterwards to find and remedy any defects and then it's time to send it to
the finishing department. Linen is typically washed and then bleached and
dyed and sometimes it also receives a water repellent or fire repellent
treatment. Now, just like with wool or cotton, there's a different range of
qualities for apparel fabrics and the weave and the weight of linen have a
huge impact on how it drapes and how it wears. Generally, the most popular linen
used for clothing is often referred to as Irish linen and it's typically a
linen that's about 10 to 13 ounces heavy. Personally, I find a designation
confusing because in Ireland, they produce linen of all kinds of weights
and weaves so it's just the designation that historically evolved but it's not
really helpful to the consumer. In my experience, heavier linen drapes better
and the wrinkles you see are maybe a bit bigger and not as pronounced as the
linen of lighter fabrics. This type of linen is often used for suits because it
looks very sophisticated and if you want to learn more about summer suits in
general that add details to choose, please check out this guide here. Another
common linen is the so-called European linen which is usually about 8 to
9 ounces heavy and it shows more wrinkles than the heavier linen. Some
people like to use this linen especially in very hot climates because it usually
wears a bit cooler. It is also used for shirts or things like shorts. And even
lighter varieties, the so-called Cambric linen, which is usually about 6 ounces
heavy and it often has this kind of mottled two-tone characteristic which
gives you a very casual look. Because of that, it's popular with shirting fabrics
as well as pockets where fabrics. If you'd make a pocket square out of a
heavy 13-ounce Irish linen, it would just be too big in your pocket and look
unsightly. At Fort Belvedere, we pay great attention to detail and so all of our
linen pocket squares have the exact size that is perfect for the weight of the
linen. You can check out our selection of high-quality Italian pocket squares
which are all hand-rolled here. Now, the hard-wearing properties of linen
are also often utilized to blend them with other fibers such as cotton or
polyester. Lately, it has also been blended with wool which leads to quite
interesting results. Now typically, the heaviest linens
can reach all the way up to 15 ounces but they're typically reserved for
tablecloths or bed linen and not used for the apparel industry because they're
just too heavy and stiff. So what about the environmental impact of linen? Next
to hemp, it is probably the most eco-friendly fiber or fabric out there.
Even though they're technically not necessary, chemical fertilizers,
herbicides and pesticides are used in a linen production which is not so great
for the environment. Also if the process of retting takes place in rivers that
obviously pollutes the river with certain chemicals but there are now also
things like enzyme-retting that are much more environmentally friendly. On the
bright side, flecks can be cultivated even under poor soil conditions with
very little water which means the plant uses very little water, let's say
compared to cotton. On top of that, everything of the flax plant can be used.
On the one hand, you can actually use a flax seeds and you can make linseed oil.
The fibers that are not appropriate for the linen fabric can be used to make burlap
or sewing thread for heavy leather, While most linen fabrics are actually dyed and
colored and undyed piece of linen is actually biodegradable. Now, knowing that
it's not just a strong and sturdy fabric that is a nice sheen but it's also very
environmentally friendly, how should you go about buying linen garments and what
you have to pay attention to? As I mentioned before, the best quality linens
come from Europe. Personally, we've worked with French Belgian Irish and Italian
linen and they have all been very high quality. If we'd have to pick one as the
winner, it would probably be Italian linen because the Italians have really
mastered the finishing process in fabrics and they also I would say
today, dominate the wool fabric trade because of it. So first of all, find out
where the linen is from and what base material was used. Second, look at the
weight. If you want something heavier, 10 to 13 ounces is good; something lighter
weight but 8 to 9 ounces is better and 6 ounces is great for shirts or pocket
squares. That being said, the weight alone doesn't determine how cool something
wears. The weave is also very important and if you have a looser weave and you
can see more air holes, that'll mean you'll feel every breeze more easily
than if you have a very tightly woven linen. You can really feel the difference
if you stand in front of a fan for example. Alternatively, you can hold up
your linen towards a strong light source and see which one shows more light.
Typically, we recommend that the first pocket square every man should own is a
white linen pocket square with a hand roll edge and we offer them without
monograms with your hand monogrammed initial in our shop here. Of course, we
have also other linen colors with handcrafted linen and they come with a
fine contrast in cross stitch and they add really nice texture and it just look
very handsome. Linen is also great for suits, pants and
sport coats, and because it is typically a warm-weather fabric, most suits will
have a single-breasted silhouette simply because you have just one layer of
fabric rather than a double layer of fabric over your chest and belly. However
with a popularization of double breasted styles in more casual sport coats in
recent years, you can now also find double-breasted linen suits and sport
coats. Because linen is prone to wrinkling, it has typically a more casual
character and if you go for a linen sport coat or a jacket, I think it looks
best with patch pockets because they underline that casualness. They just look
better than jetted or flat pockets. In the same vein, a pair of contrast buttons
simply make things more relaxed and more appropriate for a linen suit or sport
coat. Because linen fibre is not flexible and it doesn't stretch, I like my linen
garments to we cut slightly on the looser side and
because of that a pair of pants for me typically has pleats and even shorts
should have pleats, they're just more comfortable to wear that way. I also
think the extra room works well for a more casual summer look. Some people also
like linen for shirts including dress shirts or things like Henley shirts or
popover shirts. Overall, it's a very casual shirts so make sure you have a
very soft collar and soft cuffs and skip the stiff interlining. If you're not sure
if a linen shirt is right for you, you can find out even at places like Uniqlo for
about 30 bucks. They even have a great range of color and you can see if it
works for you. Typically off the rack, most linen shirts
are going to be in solid colors of pastel. If you go for custom shirts, you
can find a much greater range of patterned linen in herringbones
or dots or checks. It really gives you the ability to create a one-of-a-kind
shirt that cannot be found off the rack. In recent years, I've also found
linen sweaters. Personally, I always find them a bit harsh on their own and rather
than going with 100% linen sweater, maybe a blended linen and cotton sweater are
much more preferable. Linen can also be great for things like neckties or bow
ties because they really casualize your outfit. Overall, when it comes to
accessories or garments, linen is a great way to make things breezier, lighter, more
summery and overall more casual. So how do you
care for a linen? Well on the bright side, linen fabrics don't have lint and
they're not prone to pilling so you don't have to worry about that. Typically,
a warm hand wash or delicate machine wash are best.
Ideally, use a mild laundry detergent but always stay clear of bleach because that
will ruin your linen garment. If you find a stain on a linen garment, you can
dilute some hydrogen peroxide or use some laundry detergent in water and let
it soak for about 30 to 45 minutes. Always keep in mind that harsh scrubbing
or rubbing is not great for linen because
the weave is typically a little coarser and it will just be more likely to
destroy the garment. Just make sure it's properly rinsed and then ideally,
let it air dry and don't put it in the dryer. If you want to learn more about
how to take care of your wardrobe, please check out this guide here. Now, what
about ironing? Linen wrinkles a lot and therefore it's best ironed. Fortunately,
you can iron it very high and you don't need an extra cloth like you would need
with wool. It's best ironed with a steam iron or ideally when it's still slightly
moist so you can remove all the wrinkles from it. For in-depth ironing tutorials
for shirts, pants and jackets, please check out these videos here. After all,
keep in mind linen will always wrinkle and it's just part of the charm of the
fabric so don't work against it just learn to live with it. Today's outfit is
full of linen. I'm wearing a simple white dress shirt with barrel cuffs because
it's a warm-weather outfit so I don't want double French cuffs. I'm pairing it
with a linen sport coat in a gray-white Prince of Wales check with a light blue
and light turquoise over check. It's one of those double-breasted summer sport
coats and it also features patch pockets and contrasting white buttons. It's from
the brand Gagliardi. Because the jacket is bolder, I paired it with a low
contrast light blue linen tie by Fort Belvedere which we unfortunately no
longer stock. The color is picked up by the light blue delphinium boutonniere
and from my pocket square, I could have done with some linen but I went with a
contrasting texture in silk. It's a printed Paisley in tones of brown and
blue. I chose it because it picks up the blue of my tie and my jacket as well as
the brown and cognac tones of my shoes and my Fort Belvedere shoe laces. The
shoes also have a summery vibe because they have this woven leather texture and
just a nice warm brown color. To combine with an unusual petrol turquoise colored
pair of linen pants and there's a bit of contrast between them and the shoes in
the pair of shadows striped socks For Belvedere
in light gray and blue which pick up the colors of my jacket
thus tying it all together.