I continue to get requests for outfit ideas for days spent mostly at home, so today I’m doubling up an outfit suggestion with some tips for how to care for linen. So yes, you guessed it. The summer at home outfit I’m sharing is indeed linen. Truly, this is how I’m living this summer.
Look at all those wrinkles. Hahaha! Yes, linen wrinkles. But I think that’s part of the charm of this natural fiber fabric. Made from the fibers of flax, linen is an absorbent but breathable and lightweight fabric. It’s quintessential summer!
My summer at home outfit is all Eileen Fisher, one of my favorite sources for organic linen. Because it’s made without harmful chemicals or pesticides, it’s safer for the environment where the flax is grown, the workers who create the fabric and the areas surrounding the factories and fields. Plus, I just really like EF’s relaxed styles and roomy fits.
My cobblestone organic linen lantern pants seem to be completely sold out as I write this, but I’m really showing this combination more as an example of a favorite summer at home outfit anyhow. You can easily recreate this basic summer at home combination with similar linen pants. I’ll share some possibilities in the shopping widget at the end of the post.
I’ve topped my lantern pants with a simple white handkerchief linen short-sleeve shirt. So my entire outfits is very soft, comfortable and cool. The short-sleeve shirt does come in black, too.
I do tend to wear a little bit of jewelry even when I’m spending the day at home. But I don’t want to overwhelm such a pared back look with a lot of baubles. So I simply added my Lagos pendant necklace (gifted) and earrings (gifted). If I’m working at the computer during the day, I generally don’t wear a bracelet.
As I shared in this previous post about how to dress at home, I really do try to wear simple but pulled together and polished outfits most days. I want to feel comfortable, but I also feel better about myself and am more productive if I put a little effort into my outfit. Plus, I don’t want to save my nice clothes for occasions that never happen. I want to wear and enjoy them.
And the good thing about wearing linen is that this lovely natural fabric really doesn’t require a lot of extra or specialized care. It’s very washable and easy to maintain. In fact it gets softer, more luxurious and even less wrinkle prone with every wash, unlike its cousin cotton, which can lose become thinner with laundering.
You absolutely can wash your 100% linen garments in the washing machine. I prefer cold water for all my clothing, but you can use warm water if you’d like. Use a gentle cycle and preferably a mild detergent. You can even tumble dry on low, but again, I tend to lay my linen garments on a drying rack just because I don’t want any shrinkage at all. And if you do put them in the dryer, I suggest drying on low and removing before the garments are completely dry to let them air dry a little. This will help keep them from getting that stiff feeling and minimize wrinkles a little.
You’ll notice that your linen will wrinkle less with wear and also will perform better on hot, humid days. But I do generally iron my linen after laundering while it is still slightly damp. Undoubtedly it will wrinkle some with wear, but truly, that’s just okay by me.
The only caveats to the laundering tips I’ve shared is that I do have my linen blazers professionally dry cleaned at the end of the season and I suggest reading the care instructions, especially on garments that are made of a linen blend.
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Blessed for My Day
Have you ever received unsolicited advise or criticism? Sure you have. We all have. When someone else criticizes our actions or words, it can sting. And even if the other person assures us that their comments are meant to be constructive, the pain of the blow sometimes keeps us from assessing them as such. But once the dust has settled we may want to evaluate their remarks and see if there is any truth in them.
In fact, it’s a good idea to humbly consider the advice we’re given. But beware. Not all criticism should be regarded equally. First of all, you don’t have to regard highly the criticism of someone who doesn’t know you at all. Instead, give more esteem to the remarks coming from those who know and love you. Next, weigh the other person’s words against the Word of God. Do they align? And finally, take the criticism you’ve received to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to examine you and show you what you should do.
All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight,
But the Lord examines the motives.
Commit your works to the Lord,
And your plans will be established. ~ Proverbs 16:2-3
I love my Eileen Fisher linen pieces! Because linen has folds, it doesn’t cling to the body and allows the cool breezes to circulate when we have to endure intense heat. Linen pjs in the summer are the best! I hang my linen outside to dry after I wash it and it dries very quickly. On the Eileen Fisher website there is an article about combining linen with silk. This prompted me to combine my linen pants with silk tanks and tees and linen tees with silky bottom pieces. Its fun playing around with what we have to get some extra mileage!
I am also enjoying linen, and I like the casual feel wrinkles give the piece. I know my outfit isn’t ‘wrinkled,’ so the natural wrinkling that occurs isn’t concerning to me. But I also know what works for me isn’t for everyone, and that’s what I appreciate about your posts. You provide a broad range of tastes for us to consider. Some we will like, some we will pass on, but if you only catered to one style, I wouldn’t have benefited like I have from your site. I have a casual but tasteful approach to my outfits, mostly because of the way clothes fit me. Tailored just doesn’t fit my body, but I still want to look nice and put together. Your site has helped me find my style and I even get compliments now! I also appreciate hearing how you launder your linen pieces! I bought my first cashmere sweater this year and of course it has laundering instructions, but I did wonder about what works best, so any other times you want to mention how you prefer to launder certain items/fabrics, please do!
I love Linen. I have been wearing a lot of it the last 2 years. I usually don’t iron it in less it’s really bad As it will wrinkle again as you wear it anywayI I usually just hang it up to dry and Most of the wrinkles come out.
Loved your post with the elevated ‘staying at home’ outfit , and your tips on caring for linen ❤️. I also really enjoyed Krys, Diane and Sherri’s comments too❤️ I really might start thinking about adding some Linen to my wardrobe , its never appealed to me before because anything that creases freaks me out !! But after reading what you said Kay about how natural the fabric is and how the more you wear it the better it becomes plus you always look so good in yours . And the other ladies love it too . So I feel I should relax my attitude to Linen Xx
I have just joined “Dressed for my day”, and probably missed the post for your shoes. What brand are they? Thank you.
Thank you for sharing, very useful information. I have just started wearing linen as I am semi retired and usually wear very tailored classic work clothes. Getting use to the wrinkles is the hardest for me 😊 but I do like not having to send everything to the cleaners. I appreciate you and your honest tips for those of us who want to be stylish as we age…hopefully gracefully
I agree with making ourselves look presentable, even at home. Learning to love linen. I have found that it does get softer with washings. Its wrinkles actually do fall out a bit in our Southern humidity.You look lovely, classy and comfy in the brown and white ensemble. Thank you for sharing.
I wore my linen dress for a conference in Mexico (my husband was the speaker). It was 92 degrees, no air conditioning! I was comfortable in my linen sleeveless dress!
Perfect! I love that. 🥰
Love Blessed for my day. I began to appreciate linen last year during one of our longest hotest summer in Texas. I don’t mind the wrinkles anymore since that’s part of it as you said. I bought a blend of cotton and linen blazer and pants from JCrew factory. I washed both and they didn’t shrink and look fine. The instructions for the blazer said to dry clean and for the pants to wash in cold water. They’re made of the same material so I washed both. I just have to get used to the idea that linen clothing is looser. I prefer tailored clothing so I have to get used to a looser look. Kay, I like what you said about saving clothes for occasions that never happen. I’m going to take that into account with my wardrobe.
I have to add that the blazer is unlined. I would probably not machine wash a lined linen blazer.
Thanks so much for sharing, Terri. I love that you’re enjoying your new linen pieces. And you actually can find more fitted linen pieces, like my J.Crew linen suit and my Banana Republic linen dress. So keep your eyes open for those if you’d like.
Thanks Kay. I will check them out. Maybe I will find something brown like your pants. I will check for sales. Eileen Fisher is above my budget.
If your readers are unable to get the EF linen pants, Quince has a great pair of European linen pants at $39.90. Quite a bargain, and great quality. Love your posts!
Thanks Kathleen, I think you must mean these https://rstyle.me/+oI6m_VtsZ1ubzIt31u01dQ Look good!