The best linen shirts to invest in this summer
Invest in linen - it's cool in every sense of the word...
Words: Kim Silverman
The humble linen shirt has earned its reputation as the summer staple. And quite rightly. Unlike cotton, linen – which comes from the flax plant – is one of the world’s strongest natural fibres, granting greater durability and longevity. And, linen’s antibacterial qualities earn a worthy ranking in our summer style essentials because quite frankly, we’d rather be sweating it under the sun in linen as opposed to cotton. But of course, linen keeps you cooler more than anything, so which one should you be investing in?
The concept of dressing for warmer weather shouldn’t require too much thought. In fact, you want to go for the opposite. Try finessing an effortless look by wearing a plain linen shirt (don’t worry about the disheveled creases, that’s the point), with the sleeves rolled up and untucked – unless you want to go full Paul Newman and tuck the tails in…
The grandad collar has seen a resurgence in recent times – with the original design adopted from Jermyn Street’s tunic shirts with detachable collars. You may think that there’s no real advantage to going collar-free, until you realise wearing a collar serves no purpose in cooling you down. And that’s our verdict, sporting the grandad collar not only looks cool, but you stay cool, too.
Breaking from the norm, particularly when it’s summer and you happen to be lounging in an exotic country, calls for some seriously bold patterns and colours. Just make sure you keep everything else plain – your trousers and shoes – and let the patterns do the talking…
Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?
Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.
