Does white linen turn yellow? It can. A white linen shirt taken from a drawer after a winter sometimes shows a faint yellow at the collar, along the folds or under the arms, and a shirt in regular use can dull slowly from white towards cream. It is not a fault in the cloth and it is not inevitable. In nearly every case there is a cause that can be named, and once it is named it can usually be prevented and often reversed.

It helps to know that white is not linen's natural state. Flax fibre comes from the field in shades between silver-grey and straw, and white linen is linen that has been bleached. For centuries this was done outdoors: lengths of cloth were laid on grass and left to the sun, air and dew for weeks, and the bleaching greens of Flanders, Holland and Ireland were a familiar part of the landscape. White linen, then, is a condition that has been achieved, and like any such condition it asks to be maintained. This is as true of certified Belgian linen as of any other. The certificate speaks to origin and quality; it does not exempt a shirt from the wash.

The first and most common cause is what the body leaves behind. Perspiration and the natural oils of the skin are almost colourless when fresh. Left in the fibre, they oxidise over weeks and months and turn yellow, which is why the marks appear at the collar, cuffs and underarm, and why they so often show up after storage on a shirt that looked clean when it was put away. Residue from deodorant adds to the effect. A white linen shirt that has been worn, even for an evening, should be washed before it is stored; how frequently to launder in ordinary use is discussed in how often to wash linen.

The second cause is sun cream. Some of the filters used in sun protection react with minerals in tap water, and the result is a yellow or orange mark that was invisible when the shirt went into the machine and is obvious when it comes out. It is a frequent source of confusion on holiday, when white linen and sun cream are in daily contact. Letting the cream sink into the skin before dressing avoids most of it, and the treatment for marks that have already formed is given in how to remove sun cream from linen.

The third cause is the washing itself. Too much detergent, or fabric softener, leaves a film in the fibre that greys and yellows with time and heat; less product and a thorough rinse are better for linen than more. Chlorine bleach, which seems the obvious remedy for a white garment, is the wrong one: it can leave linen yellower than before and it weakens the fibre. Very hard or iron-rich water can tint white cloth over many washes. And an iron that is too hot, or held too long on dry cloth, scorches linen to a pale yellow-brown that is difficult to remove.

The fourth is storage. Linen put away for a season can yellow along its folds and wherever it has been in contact with unsealed wood, cardboard or ordinary tissue paper, all of which release acids slowly. Airtight covers are no better, because the cloth cannot breathe and any trace of moisture stays in it. White linen keeps well when it is clean, completely dry, loosely folded or hung, and wrapped in cotton or acid-free tissue in a place with some movement of air. The detail is in how to store linen.

Keeping white linen white is therefore mostly a matter of habit. Wash it soon after wearing, on a gentle cycle at 30°C, with a modest amount of mild detergent. Wash whites with whites. Dry it in the open air, in sun or shade, or in the tumble dryer on a low setting. Iron on the linen setting while the cloth is still slightly damp, so that the plate glides and nothing scorches.

When yellowing has already set in, an oxygen-based whitener is the usual remedy. Dissolve it in warm water as its instructions direct, soak the garment for a few hours, then wash as normal and dry in daylight. The treatment can be repeated. Recent marks from perspiration or sun cream generally lift; yellowing from many years of storage tends to fade without quite disappearing, and it is fairer to say so. A garment's own care label has the last word, and natural buttons of seashell or walnut are better not left in a strong solution for longer than necessary.

In the PP collection, White is offered in the Laos Linen Shirt, the Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt and the Male linen shirt, in the PP Tennis Shirt and the PP Natural Set, and in PP Trousers 100% Linen; the shirts are in the PP linen shirts collection. Those who admire white but would rather not tend it might look at Oyster, Vanille and Oatmeal, which sit close to the colour of flax itself and show far less of what a summer does. White linen repays its upkeep, though. Looked after, it keeps its whiteness through many summers of wear.

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