Do linen shorts crease the second you sit down, or is that just the pair you bought? Honestly, it's most of them, a bit, and that's fine. The ones worth keeping crease softly rather than looking like you've slept in them, and after a few washes that crumple actually starts to look deliberate rather than desperate.
These earn their place from the first properly warm day through to the end of September, which round here might only be six good weeks but I'll take them. They're right for a garden do, a long lunch outside, a day at the coast when jeans would be unbearable by noon, and they go to work fine too if you pair them with something slightly smarter up top. What I wouldn't do is wear them anywhere you'll be kneeling, crawling after a toddler, or sitting cross legged on grass for an afternoon, because linen shows every bit of that and doesn't apologise for it. Colour wise, I've learned to steer away from anything too crisp and white, because by midday they look like you've wiped your hands on them, which, let's be honest, you probably have. Stone, a warm olive, a faded denim blue or a soft terracotta hide the inevitable creasing and any small marks far better, and they still look deliberate rather than tired by the second wear of the week. A proper navy is the other one I'd trust, it goes with nearly everything I own and doesn't show the water mark from a dropped ice lolly the way pale colours do.
For pairing, a plain white tee or a loose linen shirt tucked in loosely does most of the work, and I'll throw a denim jacket over the top the second the evening cools off, which it always does, even in August. Flat sandals are the obvious choice but a slightly scruffy trainer works just as well if you're on your feet all day. Mine have been through two summers now, chucked in a bag at the bottom of the car, sat on at a picnic, hand washed once in a sink when I had no choice, and they've come out the other side with the same softness rather than going thin or bobbly, which is more than I can say for a couple of cotton pairs I've had. The only real damage is a slightly paler patch on one pocket from where I kept shoving suncream, entirely my own fault.
When you're looking at a pair, check the weight of the fabric first, a linen that feels thin and papery will go see through and lose its shape within a season, while something with a bit of heft to it will hold the crease you want and drop the one you don't.
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