Linenmaxxing
Seven inventive ways to wear this summer stalwart
Hei from Helsinki, and halfway through what I am calling my GRAND EUROPEAN TOUR! From Helsinki I’ll be making my way to Bath for a wedding, and then off to Rome before eventually returning to NYC. And the last time I checked the weather in Rome it was clocking in at around 80 degrees (that’s Fahrenheit of course, and for my international readers we are talking roughly 26 degrees Celsius), which is in fact perfect timing for this newsletter because I made sure to pack quite a number of linen pieces to survive the Roman heat.
As we fully enter into summer, and yes I know having summer in the subhead is perhaps a bit premature (clickbait-y?)especially pre–Memorial Day, one thing I will continue to emphasize over and over again with these lookbooks is that one of the foundations of getting dressed during the summer is, first and foremost, ease. But ease does not have to come at the expense of style!
I believe that often when it comes to summer dressing there is an assumption that you should, in some cases, go overly simplistic in favor of practicality. Shirting in more neutral hues and more forgiving fabrications, an easy-to-pull-on (or drawstring) pant, and a tried-and-true shoe that can pull double, sometimes triple duty, that is if you plan on going to the beach in these shoes. And while there is nothing wrong with these specific pieces or the instinct to go minimal, I do think there is room for a bit more personality when it comes to getting dressed as the temperatures start to climb.
As soon as New York experienced its first bout of heat in late April/early May, my first instinct was to pull out all the linen. And instead of looking at these linen pieces as a means to an end, I began to think about whether there was a way to really experiment with these pieces. There had to be more to linen than just its storied history of being wrinkle-prone and, in some cases, understated. Could linen actually be something that feels quite expressive?
The short answer to that question is of course yes. Linen has the ability, like most things, to morph into anything you really want it to be: it can be sophisticated and ladylike, of course it can be beachy, it can have an eclectic nature to it, really the possibilities are endless, and the best part is that it can be all those things without sacrificing an ounce of comfort or style. In fact, I think the easiest summer outfits are not those minimal concoctions, but rather the looks that feel the most instinctive, and rely less on anything remotely formulaic and instead on something that feels more happenstance. Which is what led me to these seven looks.
The “Errand Look”
I have put quotation marks around “errand look” because I understand that in most cases one is probably not running around town to pick up their dry cleaning in a printed silk skirt and a concho belt (Though if that is you, we are kindred spirits!). But I use the terminology of errand dressing because, to me, an errand look is the equivalent of throwing on the first couple of things you can get your hands on. The goal of the look is less about the outfit itself and more about getting out the door.
The funny thing is that this look somewhat came together by serendipitously. I have a rack in my room of pieces I want to shoot, so things are constantly going on and coming off, and because of that constant rotation I don’t necessarily organize the rack the same way I organize my closet. Naturally, pairings begin to emerge on their own, like the windbreaker paired with our mid-spring essential, the printed skirt, and the double belt situation which cinches the jacket and makes it feel more akin to a safari shirt or something with a bit more structure. Originally I wanted to style this look with both a polo and a linen shirt, but when I tried it with just the linen shirt I quite liked the lightness of it.
And a theme you will most likely clock throughout this story is the combination of blue and pink. For some reason that Diana Vreeland quote, “Pink is the navy blue of India,” kept ringing through my head. Though she is not speaking about the combination of the two colors specifically, I do find the pairing far more digestible than the more ballsy, in-your-face combination of red and blue, though you will see that pairing as well. It truly settles the stomach because the colors temper one another, even in their more shocking forms, and especially with the pink rendered in linen it softens everything considerably.
Don’t Be Afraid to Play with Color
Once again my initial thought was to layer a polo over the linen shirt, but when I tried it on it felt a tad bulky. So instead I decided to layer on the bottom by wearing a miniskirt underneath a fuller skirt, with the mini acting almost as a cummerbund which cinches the waist and gives the look a focal point, while also toning down the otherwise sporty elements.
Outside of those layers, the most noticeable thing about this look is of course the color combination. To me, especially when you look at the pairing of soft pink against lipstick red, there is something cinematic about it. It has the appeal of real-life Technicolor.
Summertime Whites
The original source material for this look actually happens to be this image of CBK.
Of course one of the key elements of what makes her style feel so timeless are the pieces themselves, many of which constituted the kinds of wardrobe essentials people still gravitate toward today: shirting, jeans, a go-to pair of sunglasses. This particular look somewhat strays from her typical uniform because outside of her introductory look in the camel skirt and Prada boots, we more readily associate her daywear with her preferred Levi’s 517s or those chestnut brown corduroy pants.
In this particular look, both the shirt underneath the sweater and the skirt are linen, which is truly a beautiful combination, and I think a linen skirt is able to straddle the line between feeling more sophisticated than your run-of-the-mill jeans while still being just as comfortable because of the fabrication.
And instead of going full-on summer white, I decided to throw in pops of blue which help ground everything, even if the shade itself is quite saturated.
A More Electric Approach
Think of this as the more-is-more approach to styling linen. Oftentimes I find that when it comes to linen there is a bit of reservation around styling it too heavily, perhaps because of the lightness of the fabric and not wanting to weigh it down. However, I loved the idea of trying to capture a distinctly mid-90s sensibility (I’m thinking Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” video, JPG SS94, with a dash of Romeo Gigli for good measure).
The look itself is perhaps a bit nomadic in spirit, the idea that your body is your carry-on so to speak, and everything you need no matter where you are is on you at all times, though of course pushed through a more cosmopolitan lens (I imagine a more nomadic lifestyle would require a bigger bag or better yet something in raffia). The marigold yellow linen shirt surprisingly behaves almost like a neutral in this combination, while the grey feels more present thanks to the stacks of necklaces cascading down.
And with the coat also being linen, I thought it would be interesting to put two similar fabrications together so they could play off one another. Whereas perhaps the standard solution would be to pair all of this back to a white, black, or taupe base, I think the mauve drawstring pants serve as a much stronger foundation because when it comes to color, as Laurel Pantin noted in her for Vogue, the easiest solution is often pairing it back to more color.
Embrace Prints
It was quite a happy surprise when I realized this shirt was linen. I got it solely because of the print after realizing that my floral shirts for summer were no longer exciting me anymore.
I think it’s natural that when it comes to linen, print is not necessarily the initial thought. It is something more commonly reserved for solids. However, having linen rendered in some sort of print helps add variety to your arsenal of summer shirts.
Instead of leaning into a more laid-back attitude via the florals, I decided to dress them up a bit. In fact, this is what I wore to a dinner thrown by Jamie Haller. And similar to the idea that the best solution to styling color is with more color, I would say the same goes for print. My rule of thumb has always been that if two prints share at least one matching color they will pair nicely together, even if the prints themselves are otherwise quite distinct, like a floral and a snake print.
Linenmaxxing
Why go subtle with your linen when you could dress essentially head-to-toe in the fabric and ensure you remain cool as a cucumber all day? As has been made abundantly clear throughout this story, I think the combination of blue and pink is one of those pairings that feels punchy without beating you over the head with color. Especially in these softer pastel shades, the combination remains vibrant without becoming overwhelming, and the addition of optic white linen pants helps ensure the shirting does not disappear into itself!
That’s it for me! If you are looking for more picks to incorporate into your wardrobe as we slowly creep into summer, I have put together a whole shelf of stellar pieces, if I do say so myself. You can find them all here.
Talk soon
xx
JJ
Whenever I read you I COME ALIVE! Thank you for this treat.
Such a brilliant array of looks, Jalil! I am not into the shopping/links, but I devour your outfits! You are the maestro at combining textures, colours and volume! I wore white linen pants yesterday (fully lined, swoon!) and I love how you styled them here.
Thanks so much for the inspiration!💕