Where the ocean is cold and the sun is strong, the wardrobe has to make peace with both. Hermanus, about an hour and a half's drive south-east of Cape Town along the coast road, sits on the rocky shore of Walker Bay, where southern right whales come close enough to be watched from the town's benches in the winter and spring. In summer, the town becomes a seaside retreat for Capetonians, and what to wear in Hermanus becomes a matter of beaches, vineyards and long, bright evenings.

The whale season runs roughly from June to November, peaking around September and October, and the last of the whales are often still in the bay in early December. The southern summer, from December to February, brings warm, dry days typically in the mid to high twenties Celsius, with the south-easter, the Cape's summer wind, blowing hard on many afternoons. The sea in Walker Bay stays cool; the beaches are for walking and short swims.

The Cliff Path is the town's spine. It runs for about twelve kilometres along the shore from the new harbour to the lagoon at Grotto Beach, past rock pools, fynbos and the benches where people sit with binoculars. A morning on it calls for a shirt that copes with sun and sea wind together. The Male Linen Shirt in Pink, collar unbuttoned, does so without weight; PP Casual Linen Trousers in Black, or PP linen shorts in Beige on a warm day, complete it. The men's line is in the men's linen collection.

Inland from the town, the Hemel-en-Aarde valley climbs between mountains in a series of small wine estates known for pinot noir and chardonnay grown in the cool maritime air. A long lunch here, at a table among the vines, is the high point of many visits. For women, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Violet belongs to these lunches; the HER Laos Linen Shirt in Pink with trousers is the easier choice for a day of tastings. The women's pieces are in the women's collection. Vineyard dress in general is covered in what to wear to a vineyard lunch.

Grotto Beach, a long stretch of white sand east of the town, holds Blue Flag status, and the lagoon at the mouth of the Klein River is calm enough for paddling. The water is bracing even in January. PP natural swim shorts in Roosewood Pink handle the swim, and the walk back along the dunes is made in a shirt and linen shorts.

Hermanus is often combined with the Cape Winelands and the Garden Route. To the north, Franschhoek is hotter and more sheltered, its wine estates set in a valley of Cape Dutch farmhouses. Further east along the coast, Plettenberg Bay has warmer water and a softer climate. Most journeys start in Cape Town.

The evenings turn cool quickly once the sun drops toward the sea, and the wind can make a terrace dinner chilly. The Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Dark Blue, sleeves down after dark, with a knit for the terrace, handles the change. Several of the town's finest tables, including the restaurants at Birkenhead House and The Marine, look straight out over the bay.

Read more: Linen in Cape Town  ·  Linen in South Africa