Salalah keeps a calendar of its own. From late June to early September the khareef, the monsoon of the Arabian Sea, lays mist and fine rain over the Dhofar hills, and the south of Oman turns a green the rest of the peninsula never sees. By October the cloud has lifted. The wadis still run, the hills fade slowly from green to gold, and the coast settles into months of clear, warm days. What to wear in Salalah follows from that rhythm: light garments in natural fibres, covered enough for a conservative town, loose enough for humid sea air.

The warmth here is coastal rather than desert. From October to April the days sit in the high twenties and low thirties, and the air carries moisture from the water. Certified Belgian linen answers this quietly. The fibre takes up moisture and lets it go again quickly, and a shirt cut with some room keeps the cloth off the skin so that air can pass. For men, the Laos long sleeve linen shirt in Oyster or Beige Cream covers the arm against the sun and reads correctly everywhere in town. With PP casual linen trousers in Oatmeal or Vanille from the men's linen collection, it carries a day from morning to night.

Frankincense is the reason Salalah exists as it does. The Land of Frankincense is inscribed by UNESCO: the archaeological park of Al Baleed on the edge of town, the ruined port of Sumhuram above the lagoon of Khor Rori, the protected trees of Wadi Dawkah. In Al Haffa souq the resin is sold by grade, the pale Hojari valued above the rest, and burned in clay pots at the doorways. A morning among ruins and stalls means open ground and direct sun. Long sleeves, a hat, and a pale colourway that returns the light are the considered choice.

Dhofar dresses modestly, and visitors are expected to follow. In town, shoulders and knees stay covered for men and women alike. For her, the PP linen blouse, hip length with long sleeves, in Sky Blue or Lemon, sits well over long loose trousers or a long skirt of her own. The Amelia linen dress shirt is a dress in itself, cut to the thigh, so in Salalah it is kept for the hotel; in Dubarry or Oyster it has a calm that suits the evening there. Both are part of the women's linen collection. The Sultan Qaboos Mosque receives visitors on most mornings outside prayer, subject to current visiting rules. There, women cover the hair, the arms and the ankles, and men wear full-length trousers.

The coast runs in two directions and both deserve a day. West, the road reaches Mughsail, a long white beach where the sea drives up through blowholes in the rock near Marneef Cave, then climbs in hairpins along the cliffs. East lie the fishing towns of Taqah and Mirbat, and inland Wadi Darbat, where water still gathers in pools after the rains. Higher again, the escarpment of Jebel Samhan looks down on cloud. The plateau is cooler than the shore, and by late afternoon a long sleeve is welcome for a reason other than the sun. Back in town, the shore road runs between groves of coconut and banana, and the fruit is sold cut open at stalls along the verge.

Water has its own rule. On the beaches of the resorts along the shore, PP natural swim shorts are the garment for the sea, and lunch in the shade is taken in a linen shirt. Public beaches in Dhofar are family places and dress there remains covered; swimwear belongs to the hotel. PP linen shorts are for dry land, and in Salalah they are for the resort terrace rather than the souq. The distinction is small, and it is noticed.

Evenings are unhurried. Dinner is taken outdoors, often within sight of the surf, and dress is relaxed and covered rather than formal. The Bliss linen shirt in Vanille, with PP Trousers 100% Linen in White, is as dressed as a man needs to be. Humidity softens linen through the day; the cloth relaxes, the creases round out, and a shirt left on a hanger overnight is ready again by morning. Three shirts, two pairs of trousers, one pair of PP natural swim shorts, and for her two blouses and an Amelia linen dress shirt cover a week without repetition feeling like compromise.

Those continuing north will find the capital a different register, set out in what to wear in Muscat, and the behaviour of the fabric in damp heat is considered in linen in humid weather. Salalah itself asks very little. A covered arm, a pale cloth, an hour at dusk when the frankincense is lit along the souq and the smoke drifts toward the sea.

What to Wear in Oman  ·  What to Wear in Muscat  ·  Linen in Humid Weather