Bespoke · Mumbai
Linen trousers
The coolest trouser there is, cut so it keeps a line.
Why a ready linen trouser disappoints
Linen has no stretch and no recovery. A ready linen trouser, cut wide to fit many men, bags at the knee by lunch and sits in creases across the lap by evening. The cloth gets the blame; the cut is the culprit. A linen trouser cut to your seat and your rise hangs from the waist in a straight line, and the creases that come fall at the knee and the lap, where they read as linen being linen.
We cut linen trousers with a little more room at the thigh than a wool trouser, a medium or high rise, and usually side adjusters, because a belt crushes linen at the waist. A forward pleat helps the drape in a heavier linen. The hem is set on you with the shoes you will wear, which with linen are often loafers and sometimes nothing.
Pure linen, a blend, or linen in the evening
Pure Irish or Italian linen in a mid-weight for a trouser that will be worn hard. A linen-wool or linen-cotton blend for the office and for the man who dislikes the crease. Navy or bottle green linen in a heavier weight for the evening, with a linen blazer or a plain shirt.
Colours
Stone, sand and oatmeal, the colours linen was made for. Navy for a trouser that works with a jacket. Olive and tobacco for the man who wants something that is not the obvious one. White, for the brave, by the sea.
In practice
What we decide together
Weight
Mid-weight for most; a lighter linen for the hottest weeks, a heavier one for the evening.
Cut
A touch of room at the thigh, medium or high rise, side adjusters, a forward pleat in a heavier cloth.
Hem
Plain, or a turn-up which gives a linen trouser weight and helps it hang.
Care
Wash or clean sparingly, press with steam, hang between wearings.
Book an appointment
A consultation costs nothing. Tell us the occasion and the date, and we take it from there.
Questions
What people ask us
Are linen trousers formal enough for an office in Mumbai?
In navy or charcoal, cut cleanly with a plain hem, under a jacket: yes, in most offices. Stone linen reads as summer and the weekend.
Do linen trousers shrink?
The cloth is pre-shrunk before we cut, and we allow for the small movement a first wash brings. Wash cool and hang; never tumble dry.
Linen or cotton trousers for the heat?
Linen breathes more and creases more; a light cotton drill is crisper and quieter. For the sun and the weekend, linen; for the office, cotton or a blend.
Can I have linen trousers and a linen shirt from the same cloth?
Yes, or from two tones of the same cloth, which is usually better. See our page on linen shirts.