Beneath the surface of Ari Atoll, everything is colour: reef fish in every shade, manta rays circling cleaning stations, and in the south, whale sharks that cruise the outer reef throughout the year. Above the waterline, the days are simpler. The atoll lies to the west of Malé, divided administratively into North and South Ari, and its resorts are spread across dozens of small islands ringed by white sand. A wardrobe for Ari Atoll can therefore be quiet; the drama is all below.

The north-east monsoon, which the Maldivians call iruvai, brings the dry season from December to April: calm seas, clear skies and the clearest water of the year for diving and snorkelling. Days sit around thirty degrees Celsius and nights only a few degrees lower, with high humidity. Clothing that lets air pass and dries quickly is not a luxury here but a condition of comfort, a point developed in linen in humid weather.

Most days follow the tides and the boat schedule. A morning excursion to the whale shark area of South Ari, a snorkel off the house reef, an afternoon on the sun deck. For all of it, PP natural swim shorts are the garment: in the water, on the dhoni and back on the jetty. Over them, between swims, a Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt in Sky Blue or Dubarry, unbuttoned. The linen shorts and the natural sets stay in the villa for the land side of the day.

Lunch at a beach restaurant and the long hours between are barefoot. PP linen shorts in Sky Blue, the shirt worn open, nothing more is needed. For women, the ladies linen set in Coral Orange moves from the villa to the pool bar without a change; it is in the women's linen collection with the rest of her pieces.

Evenings in Ari bring the atoll's most famous dining room. At Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Ithaa sits five metres below the surface, a curved acrylic tunnel with the reef on all sides. It and the other resort restaurants ask for smart resort dress: shirts with collars for men, nothing damp from the beach. The Vibes Linen Shirt in Orchid over PP Casual Linen Trousers in Vanille belongs to these dinners; the Monte-Carlo Male in Vanille suits a man who prefers a paler evening. Both are in the men's collection.

For women, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Hibiscus, worn as a dress, is the evening garment, with flat sandals that can be slipped off on the sand. Sandbank dinners, a speciality of several resorts in the atoll, take place on a strip of beach with a table, lanterns and the tide coming in; the hems of trousers and dresses alike will meet the sea at some point.

Ari is one of several atolls the Journal covers individually. To the north, Baa Atoll is a UNESCO biosphere reserve known for its mantas at Hanifaru Bay; the country as a whole is set out in what to wear in the Maldives.

A visit to an inhabited local island is part of many itineraries in Ari, where fishing villages sit close to the resorts. The Maldives is a Muslim country, and on local islands shoulders and knees should be covered and swimwear kept to designated beaches. The PP linen blouse in Sky Blue with long loose trousers of her own, or a long-sleeved shirt and linen trousers for men, are the right choice for these hours. The Amelia linen dress shirt, being thigh length, stays for the resort.

Read more: Linen in the Maldives  ·  What to Wear in Raa Atoll