Styling And Review By Simon Crompton
A particular linen developed by Solbiati has generated a fair bit of buzz in the last couple of years. Finished with a matte effect and washed to give it an unusually soft feel, ‘Art du Lin’ has become popular with a lot of people who don’t naturally take to linen.
The Anthology did a whole lookbook around it called ‘sueded linen’ and I can see why suede is used as a reference. The material has more surface texture than regular linen, and the colours are soft and muted, much like suede. It also doesn’t form hard wrinkles and drapes beautifully as a result.
Styling And Review By Simon Crompton
A particular linen developed by Solbiati has generated a fair bit of buzz in the last couple of years. Finished with a matte effect and washed to give it an unusually soft feel, ‘Art du Lin’ has become popular with a lot of people who don’t naturally take to linen.
The Anthology did a whole lookbook around it called ‘sueded linen’ and I can see why suede is used as a reference. The material has more surface texture than regular linen, and the colours are soft and muted, much like suede. It also doesn’t form hard wrinkles and drapes beautifully as a result.
The flip side is that it doesn’t hold a sharp crease. But that’s a plus for using it in a piece like our Linen Harrington, which is why I decided to use that same dark, dusty brown colourway in this year’s version of the jacket. The navy from last year has also been restocked.
The muted shade of the brown actually means it slots naturally into the ‘cold colour’ wardrobe we’ve discussed a few times in the past. It is not a warm brown, and so it's particularly nice with colours like stone, beige, black and grey.
In the pictures here I’ve shown it with soft blacks: a PS T-shirt, which is such a soft, washed black that some people think it’s green at first; and Bryceland’s jeans, which are now approaching charcoal after several washes.
But it’s also good with more regular colours of denim, like lighter blues and darker indigo. And with a white linen shirt and a pair of khaki chinos.
The point of the Linen Harrington, of course, was to make a real summer jacket - something for the warmest of weather - that was sportier than something like the Linen Overshirt.
The linen makes it cool, and it has ingenious ventilation between the two panels of the back (above). It sits tightly on the waist, with a lot of drape in the back that helps airflow as well as being flattering (see image left).
But it can be worn open, and this year we’ve reduced the length slightly (2.5cm) so it is a little shorter when worn that way.
We’ve also made a change to the internal pockets, moving down and enlarging one of them following reader feedback, so there’s more space for a larger wallet or phone.
Both the navy and the brown are made by Private White V.C. in Manchester, and have distinctive copper rivets on the back of the neck. We prefer gun-metal hardware elsewhere, and this is used for the delicate teardrop-puller on the zip.
Both linens are made by Solbiati (part of Loro Piana), so the highest quality for something of this weight (as well as taste - the area Loro Piana always excels on). The Art du Lin is more expensive though, which is reflected in the end price.
Both colours are also good for summer, but the brown has less of a pure-summer look and so could be worn transitionally - in Spring and Autumn, perhaps with a fine knit.
Other aspects I like are the fact the sleeves have a placket and button, so they can be rolled back like a shirt if you want to. And the fact the elastic is only in two panels at the back, leaving the front clean and more elegant.
You can read all about the design - including the Hermes and vintage pieces that inspired it - on the original article here.
Words by Simon Crompton
Photography By Jaime Ferguson
The flip side is that it doesn’t hold a sharp crease. But that’s a plus for using it in a piece like our Linen Harrington, which is why I decided to use that same dark, dusty brown colourway in this year’s version of the jacket. The navy from last year has also been restocked.
The muted shade of the brown actually means it slots naturally into the ‘cold colour’ wardrobe we’ve discussed a few times in the past. It is not a warm brown, and so it's particularly nice with colours like stone, beige, black and grey.
In the pictures here I’ve shown it with soft blacks: a PS T-shirt, which is such a soft, washed black that some people think it’s green at first; and Bryceland’s jeans, which are now approaching charcoal after several washes.
But it’s also good with more regular colours of denim, like lighter blues and darker indigo. And with a white linen shirt and a pair of khaki chinos.
The point of the Linen Harrington, of course, was to make a real summer jacket - something for the warmest of weather - that was sportier than something like the Linen Overshirt.
The linen makes it cool, and it has ingenious ventilation between the two panels of the back (below). It sits tightly on the waist, with a lot of drape in the back that helps airflow as well as being flattering (see image above).
THE PERMANENT STYLE LINEN HARRINGTON
But it can be worn open, and this year we’ve reduced the length slightly (2.5cm) so it is a little shorter when worn that way.
We’ve also made a change to the internal pockets, moving down and enlarging one of them following reader feedback, so there’s more space for a larger wallet or phone.
Both the navy and the brown are made by Private White V.C. in Manchester, and have distinctive copper rivets on the back of the neck. We prefer gun-metal hardware elsewhere, and this is used for the delicate teardrop-puller on the zip.
Both linens are made by Solbiati (part of Loro Piana), so the highest quality for something of this weight (as well as taste - the area Loro Piana always excels on). The Art du Lin is more expensive though, which is reflected in the end price.
Both colours are also good for summer, but the brown has less of a pure-summer look and so could be worn transitionally - in Spring and Autumn, perhaps with a fine knit.
Other aspects I like are the fact the sleeves have a placket and button, so they can be rolled back like a shirt if you want to. And the fact the elastic is only in two panels at the back, leaving the front clean and more elegant.
You can read all about the design - including the Hermes and vintage pieces that inspired it - on the original article here.
Words by Simon Crompton
Photography By Jaime Ferguson
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