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[benhall.1]

Until they can come up with wrinkle-free linen, I'd sooner not wear it at all.

What????? Therein lies the beauty. I lur-ur-ur-ur-ve the wrinkles in linen. They're what makes it sophisticated and debonair.

[Nanohedron]

Until they can come up with wrinkle-free linen, I'd sooner not wear it at all.

What????? Therein lies the beauty. I lur-ur-ur-ur-ve the wrinkles in linen. They're what makes it sophisticated and debonair.

Next you'll be telling me it's the epitome of sprezzatura. Bah. It's awkward and uncharming, and no matter how elegant the cut, it makes the wearer look as if they're a boor unacquainted with the concept of ironing. I don't want to look at evidence that you've been sitting. If ever the Fashion Emperor had no clothes, linen's it.

(said the guy whose idea of summer attire is cargo pants)

[david_h]

Next you'll be telling me it's the epitome of sprezzatura.

Ah, there you have it. I had to look sprezzatura up.

I was persuaded to get a linen suite for a trip to a hot place where we stayed in hotels rather than a tent. It was a crumpled mess before we got the airport and on landing I decided I looked more respectable in the immigration queue with the jacket over my arm*. However, just ahead in the queue was this tall guy in an even more crumpled linen suite who exuded the confidence of the English upper class traveller in the days of empire** (I've seen them in films). So I decided maybe one needs the attitude to carry it off*** - and probably staff to press it so that it at least starts the day smart. By day three mine looked like a dish rag.

* forgetting that immigration desks are easier if you're not carrying a backpack.
**or an international crook (in a film).
*** I don't have it.

[Nanohedron]

However, just ahead in the queue was this tall guy in an even more crumpled linen suite who exuded the confidence of the English upper class traveller in the days of empire ...

Feh. I'll bet he wouldn't know what taste was if it bit him on the ass. He probably also wears the knotted hanky hat. What price, confidence...

Did I mention I don't like linen?

[benhall.1]

Next you'll be telling me it's the epitome of sprezzatura.

Ah, there you have it. I had to look sprezzatura up.

I was persuaded to get a linen suite for a trip to a hot place where we stayed in hotels rather than a tent. It was a crumpled mess before we got the airport and on landing I decided I looked more respectable in the immigration queue with the jacket over my arm*. However, just ahead in the queue was this tall guy in an even more crumpled linen suite who exuded the confidence of the English upper class traveller in the days of empire** (I've seen them in films). So I decided maybe one needs the attitude to carry it off*** - and probably staff to press it so that it at least starts the day smart. By day three mine looked like a dish rag.

* forgetting that immigration desks are easier if you're not carrying a backpack.
**or an international crook (in a film).
*** I don't have it.

Firstly, it's a suit, not a suite. Secondly, you're looking at this all wrong. Linen is elegant. Materials that show no creases give off plain, loud signals of artificial, faux elegance. Linen is real.

[Nanohedron]

Materials that show no creases give off plain, loud signals of artificial, faux elegance. Linen is real.

I'll give you that. But other all-natural textiles don't crease in the way, or to the degree, that linen does. Although weave makes a difference; I was just looking at pics of dobby linen, and it seems a lot less likely to crease than plain weave. Looks like a pretty good candidate for jacket material, too. I'd be more likely to wear that.

[an seanduine]

I suppose it´s the attitude that prevents one seeming completely at sixes and sevens, Ben?

Bob

[benhall.1]

I suppose it´s the attitude that prevents one seeming completely at sixes and sevens, Ben?

Bob

Probably. If I go anywhere remotely hot, I wear linen. People frequently comment on my elegance. And no, they're not being sarcastic.

[david_h]

Linen is elegant... ... Linen is real.

Nah, its like the toffs pruning their roses in old tweed jackets with leather on the elbows and cuffs.

Getting back to the hanky. Before the discussion moved on I was looking online for an old seaside postcard to help educate Nano. But there are none easy to find. Most images post-date Mr G's avatar image, like this one:


So I wonder if, like rolling your trousers up to paddle, it was just something that people did and no-one thought much about until Cleese and co started mocking it. These days, and out of context (the Pythons could mock upper class twits just as easily) I think that clip linked earlier is bordering on the bad taste.

Shows what I know about suits. (cotton and linen mix jacket for looking vaguely smart in hot places for me. M&S)

[benhall.1]

Linen is elegant... ... Linen is real.

Nah, its like the toffs pruning their roses in old tweed jackets with leather on the elbows and cuffs.

You mean, you don't?

[Nanohedron]

If I go anywhere remotely hot, I wear linen. People frequently comment on my elegance. And no, they're not being sarcastic.

I believe you. Just don't wear it around me, because I'll have a field day: I'd try to borrow a corner of your jacket to clean my drinking glass.

Getting back to the hanky. Before the discussion moved on I was looking online for an old seaside postcard to help educate Nano.

I've been vaguely aware of it for a good while, but I can't recall the source. Might have been Cleese himself, but I've seen it elsewhere, too. I always regarded it as most casual attire, of course, but I was never quite sure as to the why of it.

Nah, its like the toffs pruning their roses in old tweed jackets with leather on the elbows and cuffs.

You mean, you don't?

Have a care, David. I wear a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches myself. They keep telling me it makes me look like a professor.

I don't have roses to prune while wearing it, but I suppose I probably would if I did. Will shrubs do instead? I want to be thought a toff.

[david_h]

Have a care, David. I wear a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches myself. They keep telling me it makes me look like a professor.

As have I in the past, but I regarded the patches as a way of conserving a resource rather than as a fashion statement.

[Nanohedron]

Have a care, David. I wear a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches myself. They keep telling me it makes me look like a professor.

As have I in the past, but I regarded the patches as a way of conserving a resource rather than a fashion statement.

It was on sale at half price.

These days I'd forgo the patches unless they were faux suede.

[david_h]

It was on sale at half price.

Oh I see. The patches of the toff I had in mind (who I was reminded of by the recent discussion of English accents) and my own were hand-stitched onto a worn jacket. The link in my mind was between the added patches and linen crumples as an exhibition of style.

Can you buy linen suits ready crumpled? Like those denim jeans with the knees worn through.

[Nanohedron]

It was on sale at half price.

Oh I see. The patches of the toff I had in mind (who I was reminded of by the recent discussion of English accents) and my own were hand-stitched onto a worn jacket. The link in my mind was between added the patches and linen crumples as an exhibition of style.

Nowadays (in the States, anyway) the leather patches are pretty much strictly for style, but the common perception is that it's a fashion relic originally meant to protect the fabric at the elbows, rather than a repair job. Rightly or wrongly, it's definitely considered to be a British touch. I don't think you can even get a tweed jacket around there without leather elbow patches. It's like there's a law, or something.

Can you buy linen suits ready crumpled? Like those denim jeans with the knees worn through.

Well, plain weave linen already does a pretty good job of wrinkling all on its own if you just look at it. Why pay extra?