A shirt is usually the first garment a man looks for in linen. The trousers tend to be discovered second, and then earn their place in the suitcase. The PP casual linen trousers are the quiet garment of the men's collection: a relaxed trouser in linen, finished with walnut buttons, made by hand in the PP atelier, and offered in five colourways. This guide sets out what they are, how the colours behave, and where they belong.

The case for a linen trouser is simple. In warm climates the leg is the part of the body most often dressed in a cloth too heavy for the day. Linen lets air pass and has a natural crispness that keeps it from clinging. A trouser cut in it covers the leg, which a good many occasions and a good many countries expect, while remaining cooler than might be supposed. For dinner, for travel, for towns where shorts are out of place, it is the garment that resolves the question.

The five colourways divide naturally into three roles. Oatmeal and Vanille are the neutrals, and the natural place to begin. Oatmeal is the warmer and slightly deeper of the pair, with the tone of unbleached flax; it sits beneath every shirt in the collection and hides the dust of a day's travel. Vanille is paler and cleaner, closer to cream, and reads as more dressed in the evening. Either will carry a White, Oyster or Dark Blue shirt without a second thought.

Black is the evening colourway. Linen in black has a dry, matte depth that is quite unlike the sheen of formal cloth, and it brings a measure of composure to a shirt in Vanille or White. It is the trouser for a city dinner in a warm month, for a gallery opening, for a table where shorts would be wrong and a suit would be too much.

Sapphire Blue and Roosewood Pink are the colourways with a point of view. Sapphire Blue is a clear, saturated blue that belongs beside water; with a White or Oyster shirt it is a complete resort evening. Roosewood Pink is a soft, dusty rose, warmer than it sounds, and unexpectedly easy with Oatmeal, Beige Cream and Vanille above it. Both colourways also appear in the PP natural swim shorts, so a man may keep one palette from the beach to the table. The full range is in the men's linen collection.

Above the trouser, the shirts sort themselves by occasion. For the day, the Laos short sleeve linen shirt, worn out. For the evening, the Bliss linen shirt, long in the sleeve, in Dark Blue, Vanille or Sky Blue. For a degree more formality, the Monte-Carlo Male in Oatmeal, Oyster or Vanille, whose walnut buttons answer the walnut buttons of the trouser. The Vibes linen shirt, oversized and shorter in the body, sits particularly well over a long trouser, where its proportion is balanced by the length of the leg. The shirts are gathered in the PP linen shirts collection.

The name invites a comparison. The house also makes PP Trousers 100% Linen, in White and in Sapphire Blue, a trouser of more classic line. The casual linen trousers are the easier of the two in character: the pair for a long lunch, a flight, an unstructured evening. The distinction is considered at length in classic and casual linen trousers, and the wider family in the PP linen trousers guide. There is room in a wardrobe for one of each.

Where they are worn is, in the end, the measure. On the terrace of a resort after sunset, when most tables ask for a long trouser. In the Gulf and in North Africa, where covered knees are a courtesy in town. On an aircraft, where linen is more comfortable over eight hours than anything heavier. At a vineyard, a desert dinner, a harbour restaurant. They are not for the water: at the beach and on a boat, PP natural swim shorts take over, and the trousers wait until the evening.

Linen trousers crease at the knee and behind it, and at the lap after sitting. This is how the cloth behaves, and after an hour of wear the creases settle into a soft pattern that belongs to the garment. They are washed at 30°C on a gentle cycle, shaken out, air dried flat in the shade, and pressed on a linen setting while slightly damp only if a sharper line is wanted. With each wash the cloth softens. A pair in its third summer is a better garment than it was in its first, which is as much as can be asked of anything a man wears.

The PP Linen Trousers Guide  ·  Classic and Casual Linen Trousers  ·  Linen Trousers: A Care Guide