This time of year, I often get asked by readers what linen suits, jackets, and pants they should buy. Their eyes are on summer, with events often involving summer tailoring.

We wrote: The charm of linen In general, approximately as before Various linen bundles More details – both fabric guide. But the most common question people ask is very simple. What is the correct color?

Here’s a breakdown of what colors to consider for pants, suits, and jackets and why. This is PS, so everything is done in a very logical order.

Light or dark?

The first question you need to ask yourself is whether you want light-colored linen pieces. That’s part of its charm and because it reflects sunlight brilliantly. Or perhaps something darker, closer to coolness and delicacy, would be better.

I know that readers usually already have one or the other in mind, and it’s a good idea to express it clearly. The two are very distinct and separating them is a quick way to narrow down your options.

Dark case: start with brown and green

Linen is generally best suited to earthy colors like brown and green rather than more formal business colors like navy or gray. Linen is an absorbent fiber that absorbs color well, and its natural texture and slubbyness (and wrinkles, of course) gives it an inherently rustic feel that matches these colors.

So if you want a dark linen suit or trousers, let’s first look at dark brown and olive green colors. Above are two examples of what I wore. A dark brown linen suit by Edward Sexton. I often wear those pants in the summer, too. Olive green pants from Whitcomb & Shaftesbury.

Light: Choose a beige or taupe color rather than a cream color.

I still hear that a cream linen suit is a wardrobe staple. well, I tried it twice I think it’s really hard to wear a cream colored suit. Very bright and colorful. If you want a linen suit in these lines, don’t choose white or cream, but go for off-white, beige or light taupe. It’s much easier.

Taking W Bill’s ‘Fine Irish Linens’ book as an example, I definitely don’t want the white (61370) because it looks cheap. The cream (61369) is better, but it is quite rich. It’s probably fine with pants, but it stands out with a suit. A slightly darker cream color (61364) is better, but my favorite is a slightly gray biscuit linen, such as the Mersolair in the top photo or the Solbiati beige above.

I have also seen a beautiful Anderson & Sheppard suit made for King Charles awaiting alterations. It was in W Bill 61361, which was almost light gray. It’s been on my mind ever since.

You could call the color a light taupe, and taupe is a good color to consider as it falls between light and dark. For example, my Armory suit shown above is a sort of taupe color and has proven to be very wearable.

Taupe is a mixture of brown and gray, and brown itself, like brown, is slightly different. The important thing is that mixing gray with gray creates a calming, more neutral color. And avoiding strong colors is actually the cornerstone of the first set of recommendations.

The fabric I used for the suit is no longer available, but W Bill 61360 seems pretty close to me. Manish’s beautiful ‘Cappuccino’ colored Art du Lin fabric is also a good example. This is something you can only find in Anthology.

But what about a jacket?

These recommendations apply to all linen clothing, but especially suits and trousers. Like everything from tweed to high twist, jackets are a little different.

First, a light linen jacket is much easier to take off than a suit. The cream linen jacket can be worn in a variety of ways, as shown. here. Also, as Manish discussed: hereA light jacket with dark pants is often easier for men these days than the traditional dark jacket and light pants.

Jackets also benefit from a bit more texture, pattern or color. My Salino Linen Jacket (above) is best suited as a jacket rather than a suit or trousers because of its texture. Mild May Linen from Hellad). Maison Hellard is particularly adept at texture and pattern. Heures Bleus Collection.

Another advantage of linen jackets with bright patterns or distinct textures is that they are easier to wear with regular linen pants. The same thing happens when I wear it with a Hellad jacket.

Sometimes strong colors are good, but

Linen absorbs color well, so you often see linen jackets in bold colors ( Holland & Sherry The scope is especially good for this). The problem with intense colors is twofold. It is most visible and memorable in bright weather. You only need to wear a bright green jacket a couple of times to become ‘that’ jacket wearer.

But if you spend a lot of time in Palm Beach or already have other bases covered, bright colors can be fun. The orange jacket above from Anderson & Sheppard is lovely, even though I only wear it 2-3 times a year. Manish has a nice dusty pink color.

I would also put tobacco brown linen in this category. Tobacco linen clothes are very chic to wear but are also quite strong. In places like Italy, I usually wear my clothes (same above) as formal wear. In the UK the two halves are more often worn separately.

blue rather than navy

The reason why navy doesn’t usually go well with linen is because it quickly collects dust and looks worn. This is very different from how the same color would look on a worsted business suit. However, there are exceptions.

One is Solbiati’s specialty product, Art du Lin, which has a matte, suede-like surface texture. It’s still great in staple colors like beige or beige, but I find it looks better in navy. Dark brown (see image at top of article).

Another exception is that navy can be versatile in the same way as denim if you go closer to a medium blue without going too bright. In the first image above, Manish is wearing a cotton/linen blend jacket from Decorum, but blue like W Bill 61380 isn’t far behind. This is much more wearable than the lighter blue.

Other colors: black, green, gray

There’s a reason some of these other colors haven’t appeared until now, but they have their place. For example, black can be a great evening wear option in linen and can also be used as a blazer alternative when paired with other dark colors (above, Cifonelli). They can also be useful pants if you wear a lot of neutral colors.

A stronger green, as opposed to a dull olive color, can be just as good as a linen color. If you like stronger colors and know how to combine them with colors like creams and grays to tone them down when you want. I would put my Scabal green in that category. Because it is a very unusual color.

I find gray linen to be tricky too. I have a pair and I think they would look chic in the summer with a navy blue knit polo shirt and soft black loafers. However, like any other color, this is very limited.