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The question: I'm getting married this summer and my fiancé has mentioned that he plans to wear a pale blue linen suit. He's from Mexico, where light-coloured clothes are popular. But I'm concerned that, when the photos are printed, he'll look wrinkled and messy. Are there fabrics that give the look of linen without possessing the 'insta-wrinkle' feature?
The answer: No, there are not. Synthetics are light and won't wrinkle, but they're nasty. Cotton will wrinkle less but is heavier and, in a strange way, less dressy than its crinkled cousin. For in fact, one of the great attractions of linen is its natural look: Its wrinkles show how pure it is. If you're going to go with a tropical suit - and there's nothing wrong with it at the height of summer even here - you might as well accept the creases as part of its charm.
My niggling worry about your fiancé's suit is not the fabric but the colour. Pastels sometimes look cheap when spread over the entirety of a grown male frame, but I admit that I'm thinking of the ruddy WASPs who attempt it, not a dashing Mexican. Anything summery can be pulled off with the proper élan. Here's a possible compromise: Will he consider seersucker?
Russell Smith's latest novel, Girl Crazy , was recently published. Have a fashion question? E-mail style@globeandmail.com.