The ferry from Lavrio takes about an hour, which makes Kéa the inhabited Cycladic island nearest to Athens and, for many who arrive, the one that looks least like the Cyclades they expected. There are no white cubes stacked above a caldera. The houses carry terracotta tiles, the hills are terraced and planted with oak, and the Athenians who keep weekend houses here have long preferred the island quiet. What to wear on Kéa follows from that character: garments for walking, for swimming off rocks and for eating late beside a harbour, none of them chosen in order to be noticed.

Islanders call the place Tzia. The boat lands at Korissia, and the capital, Ioulida, sits inland on a ridge that is closed to cars. You leave the vehicle at the edge of the village, pass under an arch and climb stepped lanes between houses, then follow a path out to the Lion of Kéa, an archaic figure carved into the rock some twenty-six centuries ago. It is stone underfoot all the way. A linen shirt, PP linen shorts and flat shoes with a proper sole suit Ioulida in the morning, before the heat gathers on the ridge and the cafés in the small square fill.

Walking is the reason many people come. Kéa keeps a network of old footpaths, some of them laid in antiquity, that once joined the island's four ancient cities. The route down to Karthaia ends at temple ruins above a bay that can be reached only on foot or by boat, and there is little shade in either direction. This is where a long sleeve earns its place. The Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Oyster or Beige Cream covers the forearms through the middle of the day and rolls to the elbow on the climb back. The weave stands a little off the skin and lets air through, so the shirt feels lighter after two hours on the path than its wearer does.

Then there is the wind. In July and August the Meltemi blows from the north across the whole Cycladic group, and Kéa's north-facing bays, Otzias among them, take it directly. It cools the afternoon and it can make a late dinner on an open terrace feel cooler than the calendar suggests. Wind also decides shape. A garment with some weight in the cloth and buttons down the front behaves better here than anything loose and floating. The Amelia linen dress shirt buttons through and holds its line in a breeze; in Oyster it carries walnut buttons, in Dubarry seashell. The ladies linen set, a blouse and shorts in Sky Blue or Mint Green, answers the same conditions for the beach road and lunch.

Swimming on Kéa is unhurried. Koundouros and Pisses on the west coast have sand; Xyla and a dozen smaller coves are reached by dirt track or by boat. Much of the summer traffic arrives under sail from the Attic coast, and the harbour at Vourkari fills with yachts by Friday evening. The coves ask for PP natural swim shorts, in Oyster or Sapphire Blue; PP linen shorts stay on dry land. Lunch in Vourkari is taken on the quay with the boats tied a few metres away, and a dry linen shirt worn over swim shorts is as formal as the day becomes. The natural swim shorts carry a single walnut button at the back pocket.

Evenings are understated in the way Athenian weekends tend to be. Nobody dresses up and there is no dress code to speak of, yet people are rarely careless. For men, PP Casual Linen Trousers in Vanille or Oatmeal with a Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Dark Blue is correct at any table in Vourkari, Korissia or the square at Ioulida. For women, the Amelia linen dress shirt worn alone, or the PP linen blouse in Orchid with shorts from the ladies linen set, sits easily in the same company. The women's linen collection shows both. Flat sandals are the practical choice everywhere; the lanes are stepped and the quays are uneven.

Kéa is also one of the few places where the collection can be seen in person. PP is presented at One&Only Kéa Island, the resort on the island's west coast, within the resort's own boutique. The core of the collection is certified Belgian linen, and the garments are handmade in the Dubai atelier and in Belgium. Seeing the cloth in Cycladic light, which is hard and white at noon and amber by seven, explains the colourways better than a screen does. The Journal has written about the resorts where PP is presented in more detail.

Season matters more than on the southern islands. In May and June the hills are still green, the paths are at their finest for walking and the sea is cool. September and early October bring warm water, softer light and far fewer boats. In the shoulder months a second long-sleeve shirt is worth its place in the bag, because the evenings cool quickly once the sun has left the terraces. In high summer the short-sleeve shirt takes over by day and the long sleeve returns after dark, when the Meltemi is still moving through the harbour.

Kéa is an hour from the mainland and feels a good deal further. The wardrobe that suits it is the one that fits in a weekend bag and can be carried by hand up the lanes of Ioulida.

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