Is Linen Good for Hot Weather?
Yes, and it beats cotton at it. If you only own one fabric for Nigerian heat, make it linen.
Why it works
Linen fibres are hollow, so they absorb moisture and release it fast. You stay dry rather than damp.
More importantly, linen has enough body to hold itself away from your skin. Cotton goes limp as it warms and starts clinging. That gap between fabric and skin is doing most of the cooling, and linen keeps it.
The weave is also looser than most cottons, so air moves through it.
Pure linen versus blends
Blended linen creases less. It also breathes considerably less, which is the entire reason you wanted linen.
Ours are 100% linen, deliberately. SIA is a loose midi with no stretch. ROSE is a maxi with a sweetheart neckline, so it does more for an occasion. NADIA is a midi skirt with a matching top, which works together or apart.
About the creasing
Linen creases. It is going to happen and it is not a fault.
A linen dress that looks slightly lived in by mid afternoon looks like linen. A linen dress with a hard pressed crease down the centre looks like somebody tried too hard.
If it bothers you, hang the piece in the bathroom while you shower and most of it drops out. That works better than ironing every morning, which wears the fibres down faster.
Getting more out of it
Loose linen can read a bit shapeless if you leave it plain. Tie a scarf at the waist and you get a defined shape in about ten seconds. Our PASTEL or ROSE scarves work well over the lighter linen colours.
Washing it
Linen is much easier than silk. Machine wash cool or hand wash.
Do not tumble dry on high, because linen shrinks and the fibres get brittle. Line dry in shade rather than direct sun, since colour fades faster than people expect in this climate.
Iron while slightly damp if you want it crisp. Or do not iron it at all, which is what we would suggest.
Where linen is the wrong call
Evening events in formal venues. Linen reads as daytime, and no amount of styling changes that. For a reception or anything after dark, chiffon or silk satin is the right answer.