Deciding on a summer shirting fabric typically means choosing between cotton or linen (though if you decide to go 100% silk, we won’t stop you). Each fabric has its own advantages and disadvantages: linen is more breathable, has a lighter weight, and a capacity for wicking moisture and quickly drying that helps manage sweat; cotton has much more structure, and won't wrinkle or rumple so quickly as linen. 

But the advantages of linen or cotton don’t have to be exclusive. You can get the best of both worlds by opting for a cotton-linen blend. 

Why wear cotton-linen blend shirts?
The answer is easy: cotton-linen blends manage to combine the best features of each fabric, and in the process mitigate their disadvantages. Cotton-linen blends will be cooler, lighter in weight, more breathable, and faster-drying than your typical cotton shirt, but will have much more structure than a linen shirt.

Where to wear cotton-linen blend shirts
Because of their tendency to wrinkle and rumple, 100% linen shirts are associated with weekend or vacation wear. But the addition of cotton in the blend cuts back on those factors, suiting the shirt to wear in the office, at weddings, and other more dressed-up occasions. Of course, you can always wear a cotton-linen shirt in more relaxed settings where a 100% linen shirt would be at home.