Every wardrobe has a shirt that is reached for first, the one worn more than any other. In the PP women's collection, the HER Laos Linen Shirt fills that place: a linen shirt in the plainest sense, without a dramatic cut or an occasion attached to it, worn on its own, layered, tucked or left open. This guide sets out what the HER Laos is, how it differs from its neighbours in the collection, and how its four colourways are best worn.

The HER Laos shares its name with the Laos shirts of the men's collection, and belongs to the HER line, which presents several PP shirts in women's sizing. It is offered in four colourways, Blue, Grey, Orange and Pink, and in sizes from S to 3XL. Like the rest of the collection, it is a natural linen garment, biodegradable by design.

It helps to place the HER Laos against the other women's garments. The Amelia linen dress shirt is cut to the thigh and worn as a dress, buttoned through, often on its own with sandals. The PP linen blouse is cut to the hip with long sleeves, a curved hem and seashell buttons, a more tailored piece. The ladies linen set pairs a top and shorts in one cloth. The HER Laos is none of these: it is a shirt, meant to work with what is already in the wardrobe, and that is its particular strength.

The shirt's simplicity is what makes it so versatile. Worn open over swimwear, it is a beach cover for the walk to lunch. Half tucked into white trousers, it is a city shirt for a museum and a long lunch. Knotted at the waist over a long skirt, it suits a market morning in a warm town. Buttoned and tucked into tailored trousers, with the sleeves turned back, it is quietly smart enough for a dinner on a terrace.

Blue is the most adaptable of the four colourways. It sits beside white, navy, denim and stone with equal ease, and reads as calm in a city and fresh by the sea. It is the HER Laos to choose first for anyone building a linen wardrobe from scratch.

Grey is the quietest. It suits travel days, Gulf evenings and the cooler months of the winter-sun season, when bright colour can feel too much. With white trousers it looks cool and considered; with black, it becomes an evening shirt.

Orange is the warmest. It belongs to strong light: Goa, the Caribbean, the Gulf coast in winter. Worn with white or Vanille-toned pieces, it is vivid without being loud, and it photographs beautifully against the sea. In what to wear in Goa, it is the shirt chosen for the lively evenings of the north.

Pink is the softest. It brings warmth to a neutral wardrobe and is particularly flattering in the late afternoon light. With pale denim or white linen, it is an easy daytime shirt; with darker trousers, it carries well into the evening.

Sizing follows the size charts on the PP site, and it is worth checking the measurements against a favourite shirt already owned before ordering. The HER Laos is best worn with a little ease through the body, so that the linen can move and air can pass beneath it; that loose fall is part of what keeps linen comfortable in heat.

The HER Laos goes into a gentle 30°C wash with similar colours. It can then hang on a line, in sun or shade, or go into a tumble dryer on a low setting, and a press on the linen setting while it is still slightly damp gives a crisper finish when one is wanted. Over time, and with washing, the linen softens and takes on the drape that makes an old favourite shirt so easy to wear.

The HER Laos is not the most dramatic piece in the PP women's collection. It is the one most likely to be worn every day of a holiday, and still be the shirt reached for first when the bag is unpacked at home.

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