Linen tops are a great option to wear to work in spring and summer. Linen is a plant-derived fabric that can feel soft against the skin, meaning you feel comfortable as you toil away at your desk. It’s also breathable and moisture-wicking, so it draws perspiration away from your body and also lets air through, so you’re more likely to feel fresh when wearing linen.
Linen can look a little casual, depending on the style of linen top you choose, so you need to be mindful of your workplace dress code, and consider ways to dress your linen top up or down to make it look more neat and professional, or more casual for those relaxed workplaces.
In this article we’ll run through some styling ideas for linen tops. Let’s get started.
The professional linen top look
A linen shirt can look crisp and elegant when worn with a suit. Whether it’s a blazer/trouser or blazer/skirt combination, a linen shirt beneath can offer a nice textural contrast with your suit fabric, and really serves as a breathable layer beneath a jacket.
If you want a sharp look, try buttoning up the shirt collar. You can even add a statement necklace to the outside of the collar. If you want more of a relaxed vibe, you can leave a couple of shirt buttons undone.
Consider how you want to approach colour when choosing your linen shirt and suit. You could opt for a streamlined look, for example, a charcoal-coloured linen shirt combined with a black suit. Or you could opt for more contrast, with a white or light-pink linen shirt with a navy suit.
If your outfit needs a little extra something, think about adding a statement belt to your trousers. You could also consider adding a pop of colour with some bold-coloured shoes, like red heels, or a bold coloured handbag.
Linen top with denim trousers
In some workplaces, neat denim (denim that’s not stonewashed, torn or embellished) is absolutely welcome. Wide leg styles and darker denim shades tend to look a little more office-ready, although white denim trousers can also work.
When styling a linen top with denim, there are a few options available. You can opt for a bold-coloured linen shirt or top, which will serve as the focal point of the outfit. Alternatively, neutral-coloured linen tops work well with denim for a more toned down look. Print linen tops can also look lovely with denim.
Depending on the linen top, you can style it in different ways. If it’s a linen shirt or blouse, it will look neat tucked into mid to high-waisted jeans, and perhaps with a belt to break things up a bit and add a bit of visual structure. For button-front shirts and blouses, again you can choose whether you want to button up to the collar, or leave a few buttons undone for comfort.
Some linen can be a little transparent, especially if it’s a loose weave. If your linen top is a little see-through, you might like to wear a camisole beneath it in a similar colour, to ensure you aren’t showing your underwear. A camisole can also keep your neck and upper chest covered if you have a few buttons undone.
You can also opt to leave your linen shirt or top untucked, which works well if you want to disguise that you’re wearing dark-coloured denim pants. Leaving your shirt out will hide the top part of your pants, including the belt loops and pockets, and these can be a dead giveaway you’re wearing jeans.
Linen on linen
If you can get your hands on a linen set (linen top with trousers or skirt), it can look nicely tied together, as the consistency of fabric creates a streamlined look. And if you can’t find a set, just make your own by pairing two linen items together. Note, the linen pieces don’t have to be the same colour. For example, you might wear a print linen blouse with black, wide legged linen trousers, or a white linen shirt with a red linen skirt.
When wearing double linen, consider that you may be creating quite loose shapes visually, unless your linen pieces are very structured in their design. For the most part, linen pieces are a little loose, and that’s their charm (linen needs to breathe). So if you’re tucking a linen shirt into pants or a skirt, blouse the shirt a little so that it doesn’t look tight. Then, to break up the linen look a little, you might want to add a statement belt.
Linen shirt as jacket
A linen shirt can serve well as an outer layer, especially in hot weather. So rather than resorting to a blazer or cardigan to cover your arms and shoulders (which can be a little too warm in summer), you can instead wear a linen shirt over casual tops like tank tops or neat t-shirts.
How to win this look? Button up the shirt about two thirds, then show a bit of the t-shirt or tank at the top. Note, the underlayer can be in the same colour, or a contrasting colour to your shirt. (Neutral colours will work best if you are going for a professional and streamlined look.)
You can roll up the shirt sleeves a couple of times, then push them up a little to create a bit of a blazer look. Then, if the air conditioning at work is making you a little chilly, pop the collar. This will not only keep your neck warm, but will look stylish.
Another option is to tie your linen shirt at the front. Just make sure you do a neat looking tie, and ensure your underlayer garment covers your midriff in case your tied shirt doesn’t. A tied shirt works particularly well with high-waisted tailored trousers.
Linen tunic top
There are a lot of flattering tunic-style linen tops and blouses with double layers that cover the hips, which are good options for work attire. They are not only comfortable and flattering, but they are modest options that don’t require you to be concerned about accidentally showing your midriff at work.
These longline styles of linen top aren’t meant to be tucked in. They therefore need to be worn over slim leg trousers, like cigarette pants or structured leggings. You don’t want pants that are bulky around the waist and hips, or that have a lot of business going on at the top of the pants with belt loops, rivets and big buttons, as you want the top to have a clear path and not get caught on things.
(A note on leggings: when choosing leggings that are work appropriate, opt for a dense legging fabric, as you don’t want see-through leggings at work. Neutral, dark colours look best, as they draw less attention to the fact you’re wearing leggings. Ensure your leggings are full length, ending just above the ankle.)
When wearing a linen tunic top or longline top, you can add a belt at your waist if you want to create more shape. And if you are wearing a jacket or cardigan on top, choose one that is as long as or longer than the top.
General styling tips for wearing linen tops at work
Choosing footwear: Linen is known as a spring/summer fabric, so choose shoes accordingly. If the weather is warm, you might like an open toe shoe, as it will allow your feet to breathe. Neat, work appropriate sandals with a bit of structure, like fisherman’s sandals, will cover the feet whilst allowing airflow. Heeled sandals or wedges also work well, but steer away from flimsy, strappy sandals or heels for work.
If you’re working in an air-conditioned workplace, a closed-toe shoe, like a loafer, brogue, or low heel, worn with a sock or stocking, will also look stylish and feel comfortable throughout the day.
Linen top tucking: There are a few options for tucking a linen shirt or blouse. A classic is the french tuck, where you leave most of the top hanging loose and tuck a small segment at the front to create shape around the waist. This style of tuck can look too casual for the workplace, although it may depend on where you work.
Tucking with high-waisted pants or skirts: With this style of bottoms, it usually looks more neat and presentable if you tuck your shirt or blouse in. It also aligns with the ‘Rule of Thirds’ of fashion, which says that a shorter expanse of top (⅓ of your outfit) and high-waisted bottoms (⅔ of your outfit) will look more visually pleasing and balanced, than if you wore a hip length top with long pants, as this will be more of a 50/50 ratio, and looks less interesting to the eye. (Note, you can flip the rule of thirds and have ⅔ of your outfit at the top and 1/3 at the bottom—for instance if you wore a tunic top with a hem around mid-thigh with leggings.)
Tucking with mid or low rise pants or skirt: With these styles, you may want to opt for a linen top that covers the waist area or beyond, and not tuck at all, for a few reasons, including:
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you don’t want to expose your midriff at work
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you might want to cover up the top part of the pants or skirt
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you might just be into the look of this loose, untucked style
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the hem of your linen top has a unique feature you wouldn’t want to tuck away, for example a fringed, lace or ribbon hem. Or it may have a shape, such as an A-line shape, that wouldn’t lend itself to being tucked in.
Linen Tops at Femme Connection
See our range of gorgeous linen tops for women at Femme Connection. You can find a mix of casual tops and tops that lend themselves to be worn in the workplace, in a range of colours, prints and sizes.