Why linen? The simple answer is that it is a beautiful, natural, sustainable fabric which is thermo-regulating and feels soft on the skin. This is why our designer Lotty B has always used it to make the smartest of casual styles.
Linen is made from the fibres of the flax plant and quality is very important in linen production. Unlike cotton, flax grows in unpromising soil as it is very resilient and needs significantly less water for a successful harvest. The longest fibres are used to spin into yarn, before weaving or knitting them into linen textiles. The flax seeds and oils are increasingly used in the health food sector seeing little wastage from each crop. Best of all, being a natural fibre, linen is biodegradable.
Linen has a variety of uses including home-furnishings, clothing, book binding and, in the past, making sails, shrouds and even armour. Use for linen has changed in time and especially in the last 50 years. In the 1970s only about 5% of world linen production was used for fashion fabrics, 70% of linen production in the 1990s was used for fashion.
Our classic linen shirts and linen dresses are also resistant to clothes moths and get softer the more they are washed. Better still, our linens are all pre-washed to give you a good start.
