How To Wear Linen & Look Amazing (Stylish Man’s Guide To Spring/Summer 2026)

So, my first permanent duty station when I was in the Marine Corps was Camp Pendleton. Geographically, it separates San Diego from Los Angeles. And as any Southern Californian can tell you, if you live inland, it gets hot during the summer. I had a buddy of mine getting married out in the desert and I needed to look sharp. I needed to wear a jacket and a white dress shirt. And although the wedding was casual, they still wanted us to wear collared shirts. And it was at this point that when I was out shopping, I discovered the fabric known as linen. If I remember correctly, when I walked into the menswear store, I told him my issue and he's like, hey, this is the perfect fabric for you because in hot weather, it's more breathable than cotton, it's going to feel cooler, which in turn is going to make you more comfortable, more confident, and therefore looking better. And you know what? He was right. In fact, that linen shirt became my go-to shirt anytime I had to wear a white shirt, which probably wasn't always the right choice and I'll explain why later. But, no, gents, the reality is linen is one of the best fabrics that you can have in your wardrobe. But, unfortunately, a lot of guys are scared to wear it. So, first up, let's talk about why linen is such an amazing fabric and why every guy including you need to have at least a few pieces in your wardrobe. Because in case you didn't know, linen is the first performance fabric that men and women ever wore. Seriously, go back 5,000 years to the ancient Egyptians, they used linen in their wardrobes. And the fabric, especially the really thin delicate weaves, these were considered luxuries. It was actually incredibly durable for its thinness and weight. And, in fact, some of the finest weaves were so thin, they were almost transparent, which by the way is not something that's great for modern dress code. So, if you see a transparent linen shirt, probably avoid it. But, seriously, linen popped up again and again throughout history because it was useful. Throughout the medieval ages, it was used actually as an undergarment, aka a base layer. It was breathable, it was durable. You could wash this thing again and again and it wouldn't fall apart on you. Workers wore it, soldiers wore it, nobility wore it. And now, at this point, you may be wondering, so, what happened? Why did we stop wearing? Why is not linen the dominant fabric? How did cottons, synthetics, and blends take its place? Well, the answer is those fabrics are just cheaper. They were easier to mass manufacture and in general, they also have less wrinkling. So, having said all that, gents, here's the reason why you need to have some linen in your wardrobe. First up, the fabric is still hard to beat when it comes to hot weather performance. Linen fibers are shaped in a way that they allow airflow. The fibers themselves are relatively hollow, which allows them to do a good job of heat conducting, basically pulling the heat off the body and transferring it elsewhere. Linen also can absorb moisture 20% of its weight before you even start to feel that the shirt has gotten wet. So, yeah, if your cotton shirts are always showing sweat stains, consider going to linen. And that's another great factor of linen. When you introduce it to heat, it actually loosens up. It develops a bit of stretch, it actually becomes more comfortable. Okay. So, you're sold on linen, but where to start? What piece to pick up first? Well, as you can probably guess from what I'm wearing right here, start with a clean, crisp, white linen shirt. In fact, in particular, this shirt right here, what I love about it is the simplicity. We have no breast pockets, we have no fancy logos. It doesn't have any embroidery or epaulets on the shoulder. No, it's a simple clean white shirt that you can wear tucked in, untucked. It really depends on what you're wearing it with, how casual or how dressy you want to look. Another detail I love about this shirt is that collar. Look at that collar. It's not going to fall over, it's not weak. This is a structured collar that isn't going to fall underneath the jacket or if you decide to layer anything else with this shirt. So, where to get this linen shirt? Guys, get over to today's sponsor, Collars & Co. Now, as many of you guys know, I've talked about Collars & Co for years and I'm proud to say they finally got linen. I love it. I got my hands on a lot of their pieces. Seriously, if you want a good looking linen shirt that's going to fit you, that's going to have a structured collar that's going to be looking great with built-in stays, whether you dress it up or dress it down, wear the shirt by itself or wear it with a sports jacket, Collars & Co has you covered. The attention to detail, the stitching, the build, everything is solid. But, a light colored blue linen shirt like this right here with white trousers, that combination right there, yeah, that looks good. And, another option I think a lot of guys could pull off especially if you've got warm tones is going to be brown. I had this brown linen shirt sent to me as well and I absolutely love the color. But, what about beyond shirts? What else would I recommend? Guys, check out linen blazers. As you can see right here, I'm wearing it with my white linen shirt. This is the Lorenzo linen and cotton blazer in sand. Like all Collars & Co blazers, it's got a solid build, really nice form, a beautiful drape. Yeah, this unstructured lightweight linen cotton jacket, for me, it's going to get a lot of wear this summer. And by the way, you don't have to wear linen on linen. As you can see here, I'm wearing this beautiful blue windowpane maverick blazer. This jacket right here is made from their stretch anti-wrinkle fabric. But also, this is a travel jacket. It's made from a material that makes the jacket really easy to take care of. It's comfortable, it wicks away moisture, and it has an absolutely beautiful drape. And if you're looking for something to wear with linen that's a little bit more classic, but still comfortable and modern, check out Collars & Co's maverick knit deconstructed blazer. This one comes in a classic navy color, so it's easy to match. The fabric here is a knit. Basically, similar to a sweater, but breathable, lightweight, incredibly soft. It has a bit of texture to it. This blazer right here is easily the most comfortable jacket in my collection. Gents, as you guys know, these guys started with one product. They were on Shark Tank. And since that appearance on Shark Tank, these guys have been off to the races producing quality performance menswear that does the job and looks good. Get over to Collars & Co. and check out all their linen shirts, their linen blazers, their maverick blazers, some of my favorite. I am linking to the best deal you're going to find out there on the web. Use that link, go check them out. Awesome company, proud to support. So, the next linen item you want to bring into your wardrobe, guys, look for a pair of linen trousers. I know many of you guys wanted linen shorts and I think linen shorts are fine. I'd probably put them number four on this list. But, I'm going to put linen trousers ahead of them because what I love about linen trousers, in the United States, most men just wear shorts. That's their default summer bottom garment. And I get it, you want to be comfortable. But, here's the thing. Shorts, well, they're always going to be ultra casual. But, you bring in a pair of linen trousers, gents, all of a sudden you've given your wardrobe options because linen trousers, well, they are dressier than jeans, but they're a lot cooler than jeans. They're cooler than most performance or dress pants. And they're just so damn stylish. So, all the items we talked about, those linen shirts can be worn with linen trousers. You definitely don't want to go matchy-matchy and wear like white linen trousers with a white linen shirt. So, bring in a bit of variety. I think if you're starting off, look at the trousers, look at jeans, look at what the colors you are already wearing and then bring in something similar. So, if you've already got a white linen shirt, bringing in a pair of linen trousers would be a good choice. Or maybe if you want to be a bit bold, bring in a pair of white linen trousers. Yeah, definitely if you're going to go this route, go with a shirt maybe that's going to give you a bit more contrast. I think white trousers with a dark navy top can look amazing. Now, one thing that you will see in general with linen trousers is they are going to be more casual. So, they're oftentimes going to have a side tab instead of a belt and they may have a little bit of a looser fit. With these type of style features, just embrace it and understand, you know, this is linen and it's made for casual summer wear. So, now, let's talk about the rules to looking good when you're wearing linen. Now, the first rule is to actually practice wearing the items. And I think this applies to anything especially something new. A lot of guys, the reason that they're scared to wear something or they feel uncomfortable wearing it is not because it doesn't fit them well or that it actually makes them uncomfortable. It's just that they're unfamiliar with the clothing itself, the way it fits, maybe the way it works with the other items in the wardrobe. A lot of people think that others are paying attention to them and criticizing them. Well, gents, here's the liberating truth. Nobody really cares. Maybe a few people do. And, gents, I'll tell you, once you have this epiphany that no one cares about you as much as you care, all of a sudden, you can start dressing in a way that you actually want. All of a sudden, you get to discover your true style. And linen is such a nice piece. It's like one of those missing pieces especially during hot weather that you can get dressed up and have a fabric, have garments that actually feel and look good. Now, the next thing we need to talk about in particularly with linen are the wrinkles. So, you do want to have a steamer, you do want to have an iron. Before you wear a linen garment, you are going to want to iron. You want to try to remove as many wrinkles as you can, but you're never going to remove them all. And you have to embrace the fact that linen is going to wrinkle especially if you are wearing it in a long day. After 14, 16 hours of wearing a shirt, yeah, this thing is going to have wrinkles. There's just no way of getting around that. And that's why in levels of formality, linen does fall below a crisp cotton that is going to do a much better job of retaining its wrinkle-free appearance. But, in today's casual society, honestly, it's almost a non-issue. And the next tip I'm going to recommend, you know, linen doesn't need to be your outer piece. It's a great moisture wicker. So, if you are going to be wearing a jacket over it, a linen shirt like this is a perfect way to bring it into your wardrobe. And then, when you've got on that blazer or that sports jacket or that suit over it, well, no one is going to notice that linen starting to wrinkle because no one is going to see it. Now, the next detail to wearing linen looking good in it is to wear it a little bit looser. Now, I get it, a lot of you guys spend time at the gym, you like to wear clothing maybe a little bit closer to the body. With linen in general, you want to give yourself about 10% to 15% of extra room. Now, most quality manufacturers should know this and they do make their linen clothing a little bit looser. Hence, when I was talking earlier about the trousers, you are going to see linen trousers made a little bit looser. But, don't go baggy and don't go too loose. Similar to denim, you know how jeans after you wear them, they loosen up a bit? You're going to find that's the same thing with linen trousers with shirts. Once you wear it a bit, it warms up, all of a sudden it's going to get a little bit looser. So, if it fits well, don't worry about it. If it fits tight on the other hand, yeah, you want to size up, you want a little bit looser. Now, when it comes to color combinations, I like to avoid patterns when I'm first starting off. Find someone you can be inspired by. Maybe you see Ryan Gosling in a combination you really like, Idris Elba, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Austin Butler, Timothee Chalamet. Whoever your style icon is, look at the colors that they're pulling off. If this works for you, your complexion, your hair color. Gents, don't be afraid to replicate that as you build your wardrobe. Bring that in with some of the linen pieces. Now, that being said, as we know, linen is more for spring, summer weather, so we are going to see some very summer colors often. If you've already got your base garments covered, feel free to bring it into your wardrobe. And once you start to get into patterns, don't be afraid just to keep it simple. Maybe blue-white combinations. Now, when it comes to layering, I talked about it earlier, but I think linen is a great base layer. If you want to wear a wool jacket over it, maybe a cotton over shirt to give a little bit more depth or maybe you have a cashmere sweater because you're going to be out on a boat. Linen works great because it's got a different texture than all those materials I just talked about. And so, when layering, it brings a unique perspective to the combination and, yeah, that's another reason I love bringing it into a man's wardrobe because so many guys just don't have it, so they've never actually seen just simply that rougher texture that we see in classic linen. Now, you've got it as an option to bring into your layering wardrobe. Now, gents, if you enjoyed this video, but you felt I missed something, you felt like, hey, there should have been some more with this, guys, I got you covered with another detailed video, summer warm dressing. Come on, you guys know I got you covered. How to dress in hot weather, how to look good, boom, right here. Oh, yeah.