Island hopping has one rule that every traveller learns on the second day: whatever you bring, you carry. You carry it down a ramp with two hundred other people, across a quay in the sun, into a small car or onto a bus, and then, very often, up a flight of whitewashed steps to a room in a village where no vehicle can follow. Then, three days later, you carry it all back down. Choosing linen for island hopping is partly a matter of comfort in heat. It is equally a matter of weight, of washing, and of owning garments that serve at every hour so that fewer of them need to make the journey.

The ferries themselves set two different conditions. The large conventional ships have open decks, and a crossing spent outside means several hours of sun and a steady wind off the bow. The high-speed boats are enclosed, with assigned seats and air conditioning that can be surprisingly cold. A long-sleeve linen shirt answers both. On deck it keeps the sun off the arms; in a chilled cabin, buttoned, it is just enough. The Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Oyster or Dark Blue is the travelling shirt for men; for women, the Amelia linen dress shirt, buttoned through, with whatever she prefers beneath, does the same work.

Arrival is rarely followed by a rest. Rooms are often not ready until the afternoon, so travellers step off the boat and go directly to lunch, to a beach or into the town, in what they are wearing. This is where linen is forgiving in a way few cloths are. A shirt that has spent three hours on a ferry seat is creased, and a creased linen shirt at a harbour taverna in the Cyclades is in no way out of place. The garment that looks right at the port is the one that was comfortable on the boat, which removes one change of clothing from the day and one decision from the morning.

Washing is the practice that makes a single bag possible. Linen washes easily by hand in a basin with a little mild soap and cool or lukewarm water. Rinse it well, press the water out without wringing, and roll the garment in a towel to take up the rest. Then hang it on a hanger, buttoned at the collar, on a balcony or by an open window. In the dry air and wind of an Aegean summer, linen dries readily, and a garment dried on a hanger needs little further attention. Shaken out and smoothed by hand while damp, it is ready to wear. A shirt washed in the evening on one island is usually worn on the ferry to the next.

Wind deserves respect in the planning as well as the packing. The Meltemi blows from the north through July and August, sometimes for days together, and in a strong blow the fast boats can be delayed or cancelled while the larger ships still sail. It is sensible to leave a spare day before a flight home. In dress, it makes a long sleeve welcome on a clifftop terrace after dark, and it settles the argument for a shirt that fastens. It also means a hat should fit firmly or stay in the bag.

As for what goes in the bag, a man crossing several islands needs less than he expects: two or three linen shirts, of which one has long sleeves; PP linen shorts for the day; one pair of long linen trousers, such as PP Casual Linen Trousers in Oatmeal, for evenings and for monasteries, which ask visitors to cover their legs; and PP natural swim shorts for every swim along the way. A woman's equivalent is the Amelia linen dress shirt, a PP linen blouse, the ladies linen set, whose blouse and shorts separate into further combinations, and a long skirt of her own for churches and monasteries. The women's linen collection shows the pieces together.

Colour is a practical matter on the road. Pale neutrals, Oyster, Vanille, Beige Cream, White, are cool in the sun and combine with one another without thought, which matters when every top must work with every bottom. One colour is enough to lift the whole bag: a Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt in Sky Blue or Coral Orange, or an Amelia linen dress shirt in Hibiscus. Salt is the other consideration. Sea air and spray leave linen feeling slightly stiff after a day or two; a rinse in fresh water restores it at once.

Routes shape the wardrobe a little. The western islands, Kéa and Kythnos from the port of Lavrio, and Serifos, Sifnos and Milos from Piraeus, are quiet, walked more than driven, and almost entirely informal. The central islands, Paros and its small neighbour Antiparos, Naxos, and the Small Cyclades beyond, mix beach days with busier evenings. Mykonos and Santorini ask for one outfit that is a degree smarter. The Journal has separate guides to Kéa, Antiparos and Sifnos, among many others, and the PP collection is presented in person at One&Only Kéa Island for those beginning at Lavrio.

By the third island the bag will feel like the right size, and by the fifth it may seem generous. A few linen garments, washed in a basin and dried in the wind, are sufficient for a month of this. The islands have been travelled that way for a very long time.

What to Wear in the Aegean Islands  ·  The Linen Shirt Packing Guide  ·  The Linen Shirt Travel Capsule