I have a friend who, with his wife and two children, just touched down in a foreign country, where they will live for a few years. It was a ten hour direct flight which they rode out in economy plus, despite Mr. O’s height. When they disembarked, or deplaned (a far less elegant word), Mr. O strode down the stairs in a highly wrinkled linen suit. He wasn’t in the least disheveled, just naturally wrinkled and prepared for the blast of heat that is common in that area of the world. I don’t know if he wore a tie. Mrs. O will, I’m sure, have been clad in dark tailored trousers and a well-cut silk blouse. Regardless, Mr and Mrs. O are there to represent the United States and did so from the moment they stepped in country.
I like to think of them arriving. They choose to bring something like the old world element of travel to the modern era despite today’s often appalling travel conditions. After all, you’d be hard-pressed to be well-pressed after a journey of that magnitude.
Would you choose to travel in linen and risk the wrinkles? If you could change before a big meeting? Would that matter? Especially considering the ghastly temperatures under which we’ve labored recently?
Why not embrace a fabric that is supposed to wrinkle and arrive looking a little bit more elegant and a lot less rumpled.
I have never worn linen due to the wrinkles. Nor will I ever. But my mother had a linen jacket that she wore for YEARS! She just loved it and felt it was elegant. I can’t find anything elegant in wrinkles ~ haha
Love linen and wear it whenever I can. I think it is a wonderful choice.
It was 80 degrees here in Portland today so I decided to wear a linen sport coat to class. The students actually liked it…although it was wrinkled. That though is to be expected when wearing linen and is totally acceptable.
Dearest Chris,
Well, you have a point there as linen proves to be the most comfortable fiber to wear, especially in summer time.
But maybe a mix with some silk would take a bit of the excessive wrinkling away and still prove very comfortable.
Nowadays they produce the greatest blends of natural fibers and I sure do love that.
It also very much depends on the quality linen, some do wrinkle terribly and I would not want to be caught seeing in such a garment upon arrival, nor for my husband!
Happy weekend to you and best regards,
Mariette
I do. I would. And I will. The humidity takes out a lot of the wrinkles pretty quickly anyhow. So does good gin. Cheers!
ML
Hi Chris – I have a couple of linen shirts, but you now making me think of a linen suit for summer. Maybe for next year… hmmm.
Of course I would. I have my own style and don’t care about ‘wrinkles’. As a matter of fact, I LOVE wrinkles.