Yeung Chin Kimono Shirt

Linen is the fiber that most rewards being given room. It has almost no elasticity and a stiff, hollow fiber, which means a close-fitting linen garment fights the body all day, while a loose one stands away from it and moves air through the gap. That is what makes it the right cloth for a shirt built like this one: the sleeves are cut far larger than an arm needs, the body is layered rather than single, and the closure is a set of ties rather than a fixed line of buttons, so there is no point on the garment where the cloth is being held tightly against anything. The asymmetry is what stops all that volume reading as shapelessness, since an off-axis line gives the eye something to follow through cloth that would otherwise just be a quantity of it. In black, where linen’s characteristic dry, slightly irregular surface reads as depth rather than as texture.

Why we selected it

Almost every oversized linen shirt is cut as one loose piece, and the layering here is what makes the volume deliberate rather than generous. We also wanted a linen garment in the store that was not a summer shirt, which is nearly all linen ever gets asked to be.

Yeung Chin’s clothes are built on ties, folds, and surplus cloth rather than on tailoring, and linen is the fiber that takes that thinking furthest.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent linen. Layered, asymmetrical cut, with multiple ties and large oversized sleeves. Made in Hong Kong. Color: Black.

Fit notes

Oversized throughout, so the size decides how much surplus rather than how close it sits, and the ties make the closure adjustable across a real range. Linen has no recovery at all, so it creases at the elbow and across the back and does not spring out; that is the fiber and not the making. It softens substantially with washing and keeps softening for years.

Styling

Over the Wool Felted Pants, a dense wool under an airy linen. Over the Embroider T-Shirt or the Embroidered Vest T with the ties left loose. With the Straight Pants With Raw Edge Detail.

Care

Linen washes well and gets better for it, so this is not a garment to keep out of water. Wash cool, dry it in air rather than heat, and press it while it is still damp, which is when linen takes a crease and holds one. Untie the ties before washing rather than washing them knotted. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Oversize Shirt is the same tied idea in cotton, and the Crop Vest Jacket is a cropped cotton layer that ties too. Everything we carry from Yeung Chin is listed together.