Casablanca is not Marrakech. Marrakech is the medina, the souk and the riad; Casablanca is Morocco's commercial capital, a city of white Art Deco boulevards, Atlantic wind and a long corniche where the waves roll in all year. It dresses more like a Mediterranean city than a desert one: smart, relaxed and a little elegant. For a man or a woman who wants to look right here, natural linen is the answer, and Pieter Petros is the linen brand made for exactly this kind of city.

Every PP linen shirt is cut from certified Belgian linen, made in our atelier and finished with natural buttons. It breathes in the Atlantic sun, moves with the ocean breeze and keeps its composure from the first coffee on Boulevard Mohammed V to the last table in Anfa.

The Atlantic climate

Casablanca has a softer climate than the Moroccan interior. Summer days sit in the mid-twenties, cooled by the ocean; winter days stay mild, around eighteen to twenty degrees, with cooler evenings and the occasional Atlantic shower. It is linen weather for most of the year: short sleeves in summer, long sleeves in the cooler months, and a light layer for the wind on the seafront after dark.

The Art Deco city

Casablanca holds one of the finest collections of early twentieth-century architecture in Africa. The white facades along Boulevard Mohammed V and around Place Mohammed V carry carved balconies, geometric ironwork and sweeping corners from the 1920s and 1930s. It is a city to walk. A White or Oyster linen shirt with PP linen trousers in Vanille and leather loafers looks exactly right against the white stone, and stays cool between the shaded arcades and the open squares.

Stop at the Marché Central, the covered market where fishmongers lay out the Atlantic catch and the restaurants inside cook it while you wait. It is one of the great simple lunches in Morocco.

Quartier Habous and the old medina

The Quartier Habous, built in the 1930s as a new medina, is a quiet grid of arcaded streets, bookshops, olive sellers and pastry shops famous for their almond sweets. The old medina near the port is busier and more lived-in. Both are traditional neighbourhoods where covered shoulders and long trousers are the courteous choice. A long-sleeved linen shirt in Beige Cream or Oatmeal with linen trousers is respectful, light and easy for a morning on foot.

Ain Diab and the corniche

West of the centre, the corniche at Ain Diab runs along the ocean with beach clubs, cafés, surf schools and seafood restaurants facing the waves. This is Casablanca at leisure. Linen shorts, PP natural swim shorts for the beach clubs, and a short-sleeved shirt in Coral Orange or Lemon Yellow for the walk along the promenade. The Atlantic sunset here is long and golden, and warm colours glow in it.

For dinner by the water, La Sqala serves Moroccan cooking in the garden of an eighteenth-century bastion near the port, and the restaurants of the corniche look straight out over the surf. A Navy linen shirt with White trousers carries a man from the terrace to the dining room; for women, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Violet or Oyster is effortless on a warm evening.

Anfa and the evening

Anfa is the city's leafy residential quarter, with villas behind high walls, smart restaurants and the grand hotels of the seafront. Evenings here are elegant without being formal. A long-sleeved linen shirt in Navy or Dubarry, linen trousers and leather loafers are always right, and long sleeves are welcome when the ocean breeze picks up after dark.

For women in Casablanca

Casablanca is the most cosmopolitan city in Morocco, but in the old quarters and the markets, covered shoulders and knees are still the courteous choice. The PP linen blouse in White or Dubarry with long loose trousers or a long skirt is cool and graceful, and the Ladies linen set moves easily from the Art Deco streets to lunch on the corniche. Our guide on what to wear in Morocco for women covers the whole country.

Why certified Belgian linen

In a humid ocean climate, fabric matters. Belgian linen is spun from long flax fibres grown along the North Sea coast: it breathes, absorbs moisture, dries quickly and softens with every wash instead of wearing out. Every PP piece carries its certificate of origin, so you know exactly where the flax was grown and woven. Our guide to 100% Belgian linen explains the difference in detail.

Beyond Casablanca

Casablanca is the gateway to the rest of Morocco. The same linen wardrobe travels to the red city in the linen brand for Marrakech, to the windswept ramparts in what to wear in Essaouira, and north to Tangier. For the whole country, see the linen brand for Morocco.

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