Massimo Alba Lois Trousers

A loose linen trouser is one of the most attractive things a person can own and one of the easiest to buy badly, and the failure is nearly always weight. Light linen goes limp by the middle of the afternoon and clings where it is not wanted, which is why so many of them end up unworn. Heavy linen solves both problems at once. It is opaque, it has enough mass to fall straight from the hip rather than moving with every step, and it holds the line of a wide leg without any structure underneath it.

The high waist is what makes the proportion work. Sitting at the natural waist rather than the hip lengthens the leg and gives a loose trouser a defined starting point, so the volume reads as deliberate instead of merely large. It is a shape that has been correct for a hundred years and will be for another hundred.

In Bianco the weight does a second job. Light white linen goes transparent in strong sun, and that, more than anything else, is why so many white linen trousers are bought once and worn twice. This cloth does not.

A linen trouser is one of the few things a Santa Fe summer genuinely requires, and finding a linen heavy enough to hold a wide leg is the whole difficulty. This is the pair that solved it. Bianco is the obvious version to want and the hardest of the colours to make work, which is exactly where the weight earns itself.

One hundred percent heavy linen, made in Italy. High waist, loose fit. Colour: Bianco.

High-waisted, so measure at the natural waist rather than where you usually wear a trouser, and expect the rise to feel longer than you are used to. Loose through the leg with the weight of the cloth keeping it straight. Linen has no recovery, so it relaxes across a day and returns with washing. Length matters more on this shape than on most; a wide leg wants to break cleanly or not at all.

With the Selma shirt tucked, which is the cleanest version and the one that uses the waist. With the Arubaw polo. Under the Bali jacket in hemp. Flat shoes or a low heel, nothing that fights the length.

Wash cool and hang to dry. Heavy linen takes washing well and softens with it. Press damp if you want a crease, and reconcile yourself to it not lasting the evening. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

The Lois Trouser in Wood is the same trouser in a second colour. The Selma Shirt is the linen shirt, the Arubaw Polo Shirt is the linen jersey, the Bali Jacket in hemp is the jacket, and the Karly Trousers are the wide-leg linen. There is more on the house on the Massimo Alba designer page. Everything we carry from Massimo Alba is listed together.