The Best Linen Shirts for Men Look Ice Cold in the Summertime

The best men’s linen shirts are a refreshing summer treat, like an Aperol Spritz you can store in your closet. Here at GQ, we’ve long maintained that linen shirts aren’t exclusively seasonal—their texture-heavy vibe and breezy feel come in handy year-round in our age of terrifying, topsy-turvy weather turbulence—but when the mercury soars and layering opportunities are negligible, they’re no longer nice-to-haves: they’re essentials.

It’s not just linen’s physical properties that excel in the summer, either. The fabric’s preternaturally relaxed appearance—those telltale wrinkles very much included—compliments the season’s laid-back energy like a fresh orange wedge in your wine glass.

Nowadays, brands are rolling out entire collections focused on linen (why stop at shirts when there are also linen pants and linen suits?) and hardly a day goes by that we don’t spot a nubby linen shirt we’d do unspeakable things to get our hands on. So to help you flex your flax this season, we aggregated the very best of them below, each vetted, tested, and (barely) sweated in by us.

The Best Men’s Linen Shirts, According to GQ

The Best Linen Shirt Overall

Banana Republic Standard-Fit Textured Cotton-Linen Shirt

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The Best Budget Linen Shirt

Uniqlo Premium Linen Shirt

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The Best Casual Linen Shirt

J.Crew Slim Baird McNutt Irish linen point-collar shirt

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The Best Upgrade Linen Shirt

Drake’s Light Blue Linen Spread Collar Shirt

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The Best Linen T-Shirt

Alex Crane Sun Tee

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Best Overall: Banana Republic Standard-Fit Linen Shirt

What we want out of a linen shirt isn’t crazy, yet it feels so difficult to find. We want a shirt that fits well, is roomy enough to let a breeze blow through (not to mention a sultry billow), and made in a quality linen. Banana Republic checks all the boxes for a price we can really get behind, and then adds a bonus detail worth celebrating in the form a lightly-textured pattern. The fit is a classic, slightly roomy one that looks great untucked. It’s got a nice collar that’s not completely dinky like so many other shirts, and the buttons feel and look premium. Even better, it comes in both a standard and tall silhouette.

Best Budget: Uniqlo Premium Linen Shirt

If you’re on a budget, you’d do well to roll up to Uniqlo, the Japanese megabrand that’s made its bag on affordable and timeless basics. Its linen shirts are no exception. They’re made of European linen, feature a nice spread collar, and are cut with a slightly tailored but classic silhouette. The length is great for tucking into some dress pants for the office or a wedding, but also short enough to leave untucked without looking sloppy. Though Uniqlo’s linen does have a nice luster, it admittedly doesn’t feel nearly as nice as the other shirts we tested, but for less than fifty bucks, who’s complaining?