Before buying a linen shirt, check six things: what the flax is and where it was grown, whether a certificate backs that origin, how the shirt is made, how it fits across the shoulders and back, which sleeve suits the way you will wear it, and what the buttons are made of. A shirt that answers all six will be worn for many summers; one that answers only the price question rarely lasts one.

Linen shirts look alike in a photograph, which is why so many are bought on colour alone. The differences appear in the hand, in the way the cloth falls, and after the first season of wear.

The flax. Fine linen is spun from long flax fibre, most of it grown in the cool coastal fields of northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Long fibre makes a smoother, stronger yarn; shorter fibre makes a rougher cloth that pills and thins. Hold the shirt to the light: a good linen shows a fine, even slub, not thick knots and thin patches.

The certificate. Belgian Linen® is a certification mark for cloth woven in Belgium from at least 85 percent European flax, and its certificate follows the flax from the field to the fabric. It applies to specific cloths, so a careful brand names it colourway by colourway. In the PP men’s shirts, certified Belgian linen covers colourways such as White, Oyster, Vanille, Oatmeal, Beige Cream, Lemon Yellow, Dubarry, Violet and Coral Orange; other colourways are natural linen, and the product page says which. The difference is explained in natural linen versus Belgian linen.

The making. PP shirts are handmade in the Dubai atelier and in Belgium. In a handmade shirt, look at the collar points, which should match, the yoke across the back, which should sit flat, and the buttonholes, which should be dense and clean.

The fit. Linen does not stretch, so a shirt cut too close pulls across the back when you reach forward. The shoulder seam should sit at the edge of the shoulder, and there should be a hand’s width of ease across the chest. If you are between sizes, choose for the shoulders. PP shirts run from S to 4XL in most models, which allows the right fit without compromise.

The sleeve and the cut. This is where the choice becomes personal. The Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt, in Oyster, Beige Cream or Dark Blue, is the shirt for sun on the arms, for cooler evenings and for places that ask for covered arms; rolled to the forearm it is still a summer shirt. The Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt is the everyday warm-weather shirt, worn untucked, in the widest range of colourways. The Monte-Carlo Male, in Oyster, Vanille and Oatmeal, is the most composed, finished with walnut buttons, the one to wear to dinner. The Vibes Linen Shirt is oversized and shorter, with short sleeves, made to be worn loose. The Bliss, the Cuba and the Male linen shirt complete the range. All are in the men’s linen collection.

The buttons. Turn the shirt over before anything else and look. Seashell buttons have a soft, layered lustre and are cool to the touch; PP uses them on its linen shirts, and walnut on the Monte-Carlo Male. Both are natural, so the shirt is biodegradable by design. The background is in seashell, walnut and natural buttons.

A sensible first purchase is two shirts: one light, in White or Oyster, for the day and the beach; one deeper, in Dark Blue or Dubarry, for the evening. Add PP linen shorts or the PP Trousers 100% Linen, and for the sea, PP swim shorts in the same Belgian linen. That is a complete warm-weather wardrobe for a week anywhere.

The shirts are available at pieterpetros.com and in the PP resort boutiques, from the Athenian Riviera and the Cyclades to Dubai, Puerto Rico and the Ligurian coast, where they can be tried on before choosing.

Natural Linen vs Belgian Linen · What Is a Certificate of Origin for Belgian Linen · Men's Linen Collection