On many of the resort islands of Baa Atoll, shoes come off at the jetty and are not seen again until the seaplane leaves. It is a small gesture, and it changes everything after it. With bare feet on sand paths and timber floors, the rest of the wardrobe simplifies too, and the question of what to wear in Baa Atoll turns into a question of fabric rather than of outfits: what feels right against skin that is warm, salted and in the open from morning until dusk.

Baa lies in the north-west of the Maldives, a seaplane flight from Malé whose timing depends on daylight and on the resort's own schedule. From the air the atoll is a scatter of reefs and sandbanks in every shade of blue, with the resort islands set among them like green full stops. The atoll was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2011, in recognition of its reefs and the marine life they support. Its famous site is Hanifaru Bay, a small bay where plankton gathers during the south-west monsoon, drawing manta rays, and at times whale sharks, to feed. Visits are regulated and are arranged through licensed guides, which keeps the bay calm.

October sits at the turn between the wetter south-west monsoon and the drier north-east season, a transition that can bring bright mornings, short tropical showers and humid afternoons in the same day. Temperatures hold close to thirty degrees, and the sea is warm enough to stay in for an hour without noticing the time. In that air the fibre matters more than the cut. Linen lets air move through its weave and stays cool to the touch, and it does not wrap the warmth of the body back against the skin as a heavier cloth would.

Days are spent in and on the water. For men, PP swim shorts in Roosewood Pink or Oatmeal cover the snorkel boat, the sandbank and the house reef at the foot of the villa steps. On the dhoni back from a manta excursion the swim shorts stay on; the linen shirt waits, dry, in the bag. Back on land, the Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt in Mint Green is enough for the walk along the sand to lunch, worn open, with the sleeves left as they are.

For women, the day moves between the villa deck, the spa and a long lunch beside the lagoon. The Linen Ladies Set in Dubarry suits all three, and its colour holds its own against water of that intensity. The PP linen blouse in Pink, open over swimwear, gives the shoulders shade on the boat to the sandbank and can be knotted at the waist once ashore.

Evenings in Baa are a little dressier than the days, though rarely formal. Dinner may be on the sand, at a restaurant over the water or on a sandbank lit by lanterns. A man in the Monte-Carlo Male in Vanille, its walnut buttons a quiet detail by candlelight, with PP Casual Linen Trousers in Sapphire Blue, is properly dressed for any of them. A woman in the Amelia linen dress shirt in Hibiscus needs nothing else, barefoot on the sand or in a flat leather sandal on the boardwalk.

Some guests take an excursion to an inhabited island: the atoll capital Eydhafushi, or Dharavandhoo near the airport. Local islands follow Maldivian custom, and shoulders and knees covered are the expected standard. A Male Linen Shirt in Grey with PP Trousers 100% Linen in White covers it for a man. For a woman, the PP linen blouse in Orchid with wide trousers and a light scarf in the bag does the same, and the Amelia linen dress shirt is kept for the evening back at the resort.

By the last evening the shirts are softer than on the first, and the soles of the feet are a little harder. Both are the right souvenir of an atoll that asks only to be met lightly.

More from the Indian Ocean: What to Wear in the Maldives  ·  What to Wear on a Maldives Honeymoon  ·  Linen Shirt Care After Salt Water