[Pontiac]

Linen is a textile made from the bast fibers of the flax plant. Linen cloth has been produced since ancient times primarily for use in clothing and household items.

Linen cloth is far superior to cotton for clothing but the fiber is much more costly to produce.

As a consequence is hard to find in Walmart or JC Penny.

[SunkenCiv]

I used to pick up “drip dry” pants — linen — imported from I think Taiwan. They wear pretty well, thicker is better. Thinner fabrics in general often don’t have durable seams.

Flax was grown for oil at least 9000 years ago, the processing of linen fiber is first attested in an archaeological context (sez here the Alps) about 3700 BC.