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Linen Shirts

Linen behaves differently from cotton in ways that affect fit before you even put it on. Untreated linen can shrink several percent on its first wash — garment-washed or pre-shrunk linen (often noted in the product description) is cut closer to its final size, while unfinished linen is sometimes cut with extra room specifically to absorb that first shrink. Two linen shirts in the same nominal size can start from different assumptions about how much room is already built in.

Drape is the other variable: linen doesn't cling or stretch the way a cotton-elastane blend does, so linen shirts are usually cut with more ease (extra room through the body) by design, not by sizing error. A linen shirt in your usual size will often read looser than a dress shirt in the same size — that's typically intentional, not a fit problem.

Because linen creases and relaxes with wear, a shirt that feels structured on the hanger will drape differently after being worn and washed a few times. If a retailer specifies whether a linen piece is pre-washed, that's usually more informative than the size chart alone.

Linen Shirts at retailers

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