A linen shirt bought for Oman is bought for a season. Between October and April the heat in Muscat eases month by month, the evenings on the Corniche turn mild, and the mountains of the interior are cool enough to want a layer. For a visitor, the shirt is the centre of the wardrobe in a country where Omani men wear the dishdasha and long trousers are expected in public: it is what carries the day between the Corniche, souq and dinner. This guide to buying a linen shirt for Oman covers which PP shirts suit which part of the country, and where to see the collection.

The first is the long-sleeved shirt, because a morning exploring the old Muscat waterfront and the Royal Opera House district begins many first visits to the capital. The PP Bliss Linen Shirt, long-sleeved, is available in Dark Blue, Grey, Lemon Yellow, Pink, Sky Blue and Vanille, and with PP Trousers 100% Linen in White it suits a morning along the Corniche and the cooler air of the mountains equally well. The PP Bliss shirt guide covers its cut in detail.

The second is the short-sleeved shirt, for the coast. Along the Corniche at Mutrah, in the lanes of the souq with its frankincense and silver, and at the beach hotels south of the capital, short sleeves are accepted for men, and they are much cooler in the October sun. The PP Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt comes in Beige Cream, Coral Orange, Dubarry, Lemon Yellow, Light Blue, Mint Green, Oyster, Pink, Sky Blue, Vanille, Violet and White, and the PP linen shirts page shows which are in stock. Sky Blue and White are calm in strong light; Dubarry and Mint Green have more presence for an evening on a terrace.

The third is the evening shirt. Muscat's dinners are relaxed but well dressed, and the Royal Opera House, which has its own published dress code to read before a performance, asks for something more finished. The Monte-Carlo Male, with walnut buttons, is available in Oatmeal, Oyster and Vanille, and over PP Casual Linen Trousers in Sapphire Blue or Black it is as formal as most of Oman's evenings require. A PP blazer such as the Monaco Blazer goes over it for the opera.

Oman's interior changes the picture. On Jebel Akhdar, the Green Mountain, the Saiq Plateau sits at around two thousand metres and is noticeably cooler than the coast, with terraced villages, rose gardens and walnut and pomegranate trees. Nizwa, with its great round fort and its Friday livestock market, is a long morning on foot. Here a Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Dark Blue, Beige Cream or Oyster suits the day, with a wool layer for the evening. A night in the dunes of the Sharqiya Sands runs from midday heat to real cold after dark, and a desert dinner by the fire asks for a knit over the long-sleeved shirt.

The shirts themselves are made by hand at the atelier in Dubai, and much of the men's collection is certified Belgian linen, a cloth that suits the Gulf's dry heat and its humid coast alike. The collection can be seen and tried in Dubai, in the resort boutiques of Park Hyatt Dubai and its Lagoon Beach Club, Sofitel The Palm Beach Resort and Surf Club Dubai, a short flight from Muscat, and it can be ordered from the online collection. Neighbouring markets are covered in buying a linen shirt in Bahrain.

Dress in the capital, day by day, follows what to wear in Muscat; the dishdasha, and how a visitor's linen sits beside it, belongs to what to wear in Muscat for men; and the house's wider place in the country is the theme of linen for Oman.

Muscat's cool season is short enough to plan around: by May the heat returns to the coast, and the shirts bought for the winter become shirts for the evening.

Read more: What to Wear in Oman's Wadis  ·  What to Wear in Salalah