Womens shirts and blouses, with the linen question answered

Linen, and the shrinkage question nobody answers

Six of the twelve most-searched questions about womens shirts are about linen shrinking or linen creasing. Here is the position, including the parts that are unresolved.

The single fact that decides whether a linen shirt shrinks is whether the fabric was pre-washed, and almost no retailer states it. Published figures put pre-washed linen at 1 to 3% on the first wash, raw or untreated linen at 4 to 10%, and a linen-cotton blend at 3 to 6%, with most of the movement happening on that first wash. Those figures come from a secondary source rather than a standards body, so treat them as indicative.

The Irish Linen Guild, which is the closest thing to an authority and a Belfast-relevant one, publishes no shrinkage percentage at all.

There is also a straight contradiction in the guidance. The Irish Linen Guild says linen can be washed at high temperatures and that a 60 degree wash is usually effective. Garment care guidance says 30 degrees or below to minimise shrinkage. The reconciliation is that the Guild is largely talking about finished household linen, tablecloths and bedding, rather than an unwashed garment, but nobody has published that reconciliation properly and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

Practical answer: wash a linen shirt cool the first time, and if you want to know whether a specific shirt was pre-washed, ask and we will read the label.

What linen does well

Linen is stronger than cotton, dries more quickly, and is more slowly affected by sunlight. It absorbs and releases moisture quickly and conducts heat well, which is why it feels cool against the skin. Unusually, it gets stronger when wet, which is the opposite of viscose and silk.

It creases because it has low elasticity. That is the fibre, not the make. The Irish Linen Guild notes that as linen is laundered and worn it softens and the characteristic creasing becomes less evident, so a linen shirt is at its worst on day one and improves from there.

Care, from the Guild: do not normally tumble dry, because it over-dries the fibres. Iron while damp, first on the wrong side to clear the creases and then on the right side. A hot iron is usually recommended.

Poplin and the other weaves

Poplin is a plain weave with fine, closely spaced crosswise ribs. Crisp, smooth and the most formal of the common shirtings.

Oxford is a basket weave, thicker weft crossing pairs of warp threads, textured and casual, and it softens with washing.

Chambray is a plain weave with a coloured warp and white weft, soft with a casual varied texture.

Twill is denser and works at heavier weights.

Fit, and what to expect from these brands

Rails is the one people ask about, and the honest answer is that the brand's fit is discussed everywhere and documented nowhere reliable. Rails shirts are generally cut relaxed rather than fitted, which is much of their appeal. If you want it closer through the body, consider going down.

Munthe, Skall Studio and Baum und Pferdgarten are Danish, and their sizing is covered in detail on the womens tops page. The short version: Baum und Pferdgarten uses one system for jersey and knit and another for woven, so a blouse from them is a number while a jersey top is a letter.

Ottod'Ame is Italian. Skall Studio puts Italian 40 at a UK 8 and Baum und Pferdgarten puts Italian 42 at a UK 8, so the two Danish brands disagree by a full Italian size. Ottod'Ame publishes no chart we could retrieve and its stockists are inconsistent with each other, so treat Italian conversions as approximate.

Vivere is British, founded in 2023 by Savannah Miller, despite the Italian-sounding name. Do not size it as an Italian brand.

A note on what this page is not

If you are looking for an Ireland rugby or football shirt, you want a different shop entirely. We mention it only because the search term for shirts in Ireland is dominated by jerseys, and it is worth being clear.