A cuff changes a shirt more than any other single detail. Buttoned at the wrist, it makes a linen shirt fit for dinner, a mosque or a long flight; turned back twice, it relaxes the same shirt for a harbour lunch. The PP Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt is the version of the Laos that gives that flexibility, and this guide sets out what it is, how it differs from its short-sleeved sibling and where the long sleeve earns its place in a warm-weather wardrobe.

The Laos exists in several forms within the men's collection. The Laos Linen Shirt and the Laos Short Sleeve, with its wide range of colours, are covered in their own guides. The Laos Long Sleeve keeps the relaxed Laos cut and adds full-length sleeves with buttoned cuffs. It is handmade in the PP atelier in Dubai and closes with seashell buttons down the front, the natural finish used across most of the house's shirts.

Three colourways are made. Oyster is a pale, warm grey-beige that works with almost every trouser in the collection and looks right from breakfast to dinner. Beige Cream is lighter and softer, close to natural flax, and suits the beach and the garden. Dark Blue is the evening colour of the three and the most formal, at home at a dinner table in the city or on a terrace after dark. All three are cut in sizes from S to 4XL, and the full range sits on the PP linen shirts page.

Choosing between the long and the short sleeve depends mostly on the sun and the occasion. A short sleeve is cooler at midday on a beach and simpler to wear with swim shorts. A long sleeve protects the forearms in strong sun, holds its own in air-conditioned restaurants and offices, and is expected in mosques, some churches and more formal dining rooms. The question is weighed in detail in short sleeve versus long sleeve linen shirts; in practice, a wardrobe for the Gulf or the Mediterranean has room for one of each.

The shirt wears naturally untucked, and tucks into tailored trousers when the evening asks for it. For daytime, Beige Cream with PP linen shorts in Navy Blue and the cuffs turned back is the simplest combination. Oyster with PP Casual Linen Trousers in Black is a quiet outfit for a city evening. Dark Blue with PP Trousers 100% Linen in White is the classic Mediterranean dinner pairing, crisp in contrast and cool in cloth. For the question of when to tuck, tucked or untucked goes through each case.

The seashell buttons are worth a closer look. Each one is cut from natural shell, so the surface shows small variations in tone and lustre from button to button; no two shirts are identical in this respect. Thin and flat, they lie close to the placket under a jacket or a gillet. The house's use of natural buttons, from seashell to walnut, is explained in natural buttons.

The long sleeve also changes the shirt's role in travel. On a plane or a long drive it is the layer against cold air-conditioning; on arrival in the heat, the cuffs open and it becomes a day shirt again without a change of clothes. Worn this way over a week, the cloth relaxes into the shape of the wearer, and the Oyster in particular takes on a soft, lived-in look that suits it better than a fresh press. Washing and drying are covered in the linen shirt care guide.

Of the shirts in the Laos family, the long sleeve is the one that travels furthest in a single day. It goes from a sunlit morning walk to an air-conditioned lunch to a dinner where a short sleeve would look underdressed, in a cloth that stays light throughout. In Oyster, it covers more hours of a warm-weather day than any other colourway of the three.

Read more: The PP Laos Short Sleeve Guide  ·  The Long-Sleeved Linen Shirt for Men