Linen Wrinkles, But Not All Shirts Equally -- What Brands Wrinkle Less?
I am a linen evangelist in the summer. The loose weave is pretty much unmatched for breathability and blocking sun (I have some hemp shirts on the way, so we shall see). I am fine with the "rumpled" look that is characteristic of linen, but some shirts come out of the dryer with the placket extremely twisted, collars flipped, and hems turned into accordions.
Now the first piece of advice is probably to avoid the dryer (I wash and dry all my shirts fully buttoned to avoid them getting absolutely twisted into ropes), or dry fewer items at a time, and that may be something I try, but in the meantime I am having success giving them a handheld steam before wear.
After many years of wearing linen, Ive noticed some brands of shirts wrinkle less than others. A small amount of cotton in the blend helps with this, of course, but even among 100% linen shirts, some more than others. Recently I tried the Charles Tyrwhitt short sleeve 100% linen button downs, and the fabric weight seems to be slightly heavier than the usual run-of-the-mill, and they have wrinkled less in the dryer. The uniqlo premium linen button downs have faired well also, but I prefer shirts without pockets.
I may be splitting hairs with this question, but I was wondering if anyone had any input?