Tuscany asks for a different kind of dressing from the coast. There are no beach clubs, no yachts, no marina promenade. What there is: the lunch at a winery in the Chianti hills, the afternoon walk through a medieval hill town, the dinner at a Florentine agriturismo with a view across the valley. The register here is quieter than Sardinia or Portofino — less about visual display and more about fitting correctly into a setting that has its own considerable beauty.

The heat in Tuscany in summer is dry and intense. The hill towns — Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano — reach temperatures above 35 degrees in July and August, and the stone streets and piazzas hold the heat through the afternoon. A fabric that breathes in dry heat is the correct choice, and linen performs particularly well in these conditions.

For the winery and vineyard visit: a PP linen shirt in white or a warm natural — the colour of the Tuscan stone — with linen trousers. The vineyard lunch in the Chianti or Montalcino is a context where considered dress reads as respect for the setting. Natural linen, in natural tones, sits in the Tuscan landscape as if it was designed for it.

For the hill towns: the walk from the car park to the piazza in Siena, the afternoon in the lanes of Montepulciano — these are physical occasions in significant heat. A linen shirt and shorts for the afternoon, with shoes that can manage cobblestones, is the practical combination that also reads correctly in the cultural context.

For the Tuscan evening: the restaurant in a converted farmhouse, the dinner at a winery's private table, the aperitivo at a terrace bar above the valley — the evening standard in Tuscany is relaxed but attentive to quality. A PP linen shirt in navy or a deeper warm tone with linen trousers and leather shoes carries all of these occasions without effort.

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