how to wear linen & where to buy the best

6th May 2020

When it comes to Spring/Summer trends, I haven’t really paid much attention to them this year to be honest instead reaching for fail safe classics, flattering silhouettes and beautiful timeless linen fabrics. I’ve discovered new brands and invested in old favourites but I’ve also worn and lived in all of the linen pieces i purchased last year non-stop and its reignited the love I have for this incredibly beautiful and natural fabric so here’s a little write up of how to wear linen and where to get the best pieces.

EMBRACE THE CREASES

First things first, linen creases and thats a fact! Some of you might be thinking “Way to state the obvious there Lydia” but  I often get comments asking how I wear linen and stop that from happening, the truth is, you don’t! You just embrace the imperfection of it and the beautiful rawness of the material. Forget about it, embrace it and you’ll soon fall in love with the relaxed nature of the fabric.

STEAM DON’T IRON

Whilst I embrace the natural creases of the fabric as you wear it, I don’t tend to wear crumpled linen and I definitely wouldn’t recommend ironing it to combat the crumple either. I always suggest that if you plan on wearing linen, you will want to get yourself a good steamer, this doesn’t leave the finish of the fabric feeling forced and stuffy, instead naturally releasing the creases and crumples that sometimes appear after washing which then allows the linen to mould, shape and crease to the natural movement of your body.

INVEST IN WARDROBE SOLUTIONS

If you are a watcher of my Youtube channel, you might know about my ‘Wardrobe Solutions’ drawer in the centre island of my dressing room. This drawer is dedicated to slips, nude underwear, petticoats, elastic waiste bands, de-bobbles, clothing protectors, you name it, its in there! And a lot of these items I have because I wear linen. Lined linen has a much heavier feel than unlined and it can be a little disruptive to the beauty of the fabric and whilst in many instances it works, sometimes you just want that light and airiness that you only get with beautiful quality linen fabric. So I have a large selection of Nude Slip dresses, mainly collected from old dresses and also slip skirts or petticoats that I’ve purchased from M&S over the years which means I usually have one wardrobe solution or another that can solve the sheerest of linen items and I would suggest buying yourself a couple if you plan on wearing more too.

WHERE TO SHOP: Highstreet

If ever I’m shopping for linen at a slightly lower price point, I only ever find myself headed straight for H&M because the quality, teamed with their timeless designs means that regardless of the price tag, these items will see you into seasons and years to come.

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WHERE TO SHOP: Premium

For real quality linen in more unique silhouettes Reiss has been my go to recently, especially when it comes to linen basics and beautiful timeless jumpsuits. I also recently discovered the brand Venroy of which I am wearing two pieces from their collection in this post. This timeless sky blue, one shoulder linen dress is so comfortable, I’m currently curled up in it on my sofa with the white Venroy shirt covering my shoulders. Comfortable, effortless and still beautiful.

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WHERE TO SHOP: Luxury

When it comes to beautiful, statement and also timeless but always with a feminine flirty feel, Zimmerman is my ultimate go to. With prices sometimes as high as 3000 pounds for their pieces I am happy to say that most of the items I find myself buying never date. I try to stay away from the more statement patterns and opt more for the whites, neutrals and blacks however every-so-often Zimmermann releases a statement design that I simply cannot pass up and this season to the beautiful blue and floral balloon sleeved linen number that I picked up from FarFetch this week. Its stunning!

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Do you wear linen? What is your favourite brand? What are your favourite pieces and most importantly what is it that you love about the fabric most because I keep falling in love with different aspects of it and it becomes more and more beautiful to me!