Q: It’s getting warmer, so I got out my linen pants. I noticed some heavy wrinkling near the bottoms of the legs. I usually iron my pants to hold a crease down the center of the leg, but the well-ironed look seems to clash with the laid-back look and feel of linen. Do I iron as usual, iron so creases are on the sides or put away the iron altogether?

A: I like the process of linen going from crisp to lived-in, so I have my linens pressed, but if you don’t like the usual center crease, ask a better dry cleaner to press yours without a crease. I wouldn’t attempt it myself, but if you’re handy with the iron, why not? For a more casual look, you might try simply steaming your trousers with a hand steamer. That will get the wrinkles out without your linens looking crisp.

July 2003

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