Cortana Costa Pants

A pressed crease in a linen trouser is a small provocation, because linen is the fiber least willing to hold one. Most makers avoid the argument and cut linen loose and uncreased. This one takes the crease seriously, front and back, high-rise and tapered, and accepts that it will soften across a day and come back with a press. That is not a flaw in the garment, it is the deal linen offers and this trouser takes it knowingly. The cloth is pure European linen with a weave open enough to read from a few feet away, so the surface has texture in it rather than being a flat ground for a shape. The colorway is Marés, the sandstone quarried on Mallorca and the stone Palma is built from. It is pale and warm, somewhere between sand and honey. Cortana is a Mallorcan house, and the color is the stone’s.

Why we selected it

We wanted a linen trouser with a waist high enough to tuck into and a leg clean enough to wear to something. Most linen trousers are cut as though linen were only for holidays.

Cortana cuts linen as tailoring rather than as leisure clothing, and this is the trouser where that is most obvious.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent European linen. High rise, tapered, with a pressed crease front and back. Colorway: Marés, a pale sand-to-honey tone named for the Mallorcan sandstone it is taken from. We do not hold a country of origin for this piece, and the flax being European tells you where the fiber grew rather than where the trouser was made.

Fit notes

High-rise, so it sits at the natural waist and is cut to be tucked into rather than covered. Tapered through the leg. Linen has no recovery, so expect the knee and the seat to soften across a day and come back with a press or a wash. The visible weave means the cloth reads lighter than its weight suggests.

Styling

With the UFO Top in ivory, which is the most direct version of the whole idea. With the Theresa Shirt untucked. With the Anele Top tucked, since the rise is built for it. The Sack M Bag goes with all three.

Care

Machine wash gentle and cool, or hand wash, then air dry or dry flat and press while still damp, which is when linen takes a crease and holds it. Do not store it compressed for months at a time. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Nora Cardigan is linen knitted rather than woven, and the Mel Pants are linen with silk in the blend. Everything we carry from Cortana is listed together.