Lemaire Twisted Top

This is the Twisted idea at its simplest: one cloth, one colour, no detailing, and the entire shape produced by where the seams are put. Rotating the seams out of vertical means the fabric can no longer hang as two flat planes meeting at the sides, so it wraps continuously around the body instead and falls in a slow diagonal rather than straight down. The consequence is drape that appears to be draped and is not. Conventional draping is done by gathering or pleating fabric and fixing it in place; here the folds emerge from the geometry of the seaming and move with the wearer rather than staying where they were put. Doing it in a plain cotton rather than a fluid silk is the interesting choice, because cotton has enough body to hold the fold and enough matte plainness that there is nothing to look at except the form. Ash black, a soft dark that is not a hard black, does the same job: it shows shadow, which is how a garment made of folds is read.

Why we selected it

Shape produced by construction rather than by draping is the more durable idea, because it does not depend on the garment being arranged. Plain cotton is the honest cloth for showing it.

The Twisted line, applied to a top, in the plainest material the house uses for it.

Materials and construction

100% cotton. Twisted construction. Made in Romania, in ash black.

Fit notes

The shape comes from the seaming rather than from fitting, so it hangs away from the body in some places and closer in others by design. It will look different in motion than at rest. We do not hold measurements, and there is no Lemaire size chart on this site.

Styling

Fold and shadow are the whole garment, so it wants a plain trouser and no competing volume. Over the Twisted Pants or the Five Pocket Twisted Pant it makes a consistent line, though the effect is stronger if only one of the two is doing the twisting.

Care

Wash cool and dry gently. A garment whose shape comes from how its seams are arranged is distorted more visibly by hot washing and hot drying than a conventionally cut one, so treat it gently and reshape it damp. Our fabric care guide has a section on cotton.

Related pieces

The Straight Collar Twisted Shirt and the Twisted Hem Skirt carry the same construction, and the Twisted Pants is it in a trouser. Everything we carry from Lemaire is listed together.