French Protestant refugees reached this valley in 1688, fleeing persecution after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and they brought with them vines, names and a sense of the table that never left. Their descendants' farms now carry names like La Motte, La Petite Ferme and Haute Cabrière, and the town that grew between them is called, simply, the French Corner. Understanding that history is a better start on what to wear in Franschhoek than any forecast, because the valley still dresses for lunch.

Franschhoek lies about an hour's drive east of Cape Town, a narrow valley closed at one end by mountains, with the Huguenot Monument standing at the top of the main road. Summer runs from December to March. Days are dry and hot, often in the low thirties in January and February, while the evenings cool quickly once the sun drops behind the peaks.

Most days in the valley begin on the Franschhoek Wine Tram, a hop-on, hop-off line of open trams and buses that links tasting rooms across the estates. It is a day of standing in sunlit cellars, walking between vines and sitting on terraces, and comfort matters more than polish. A Male Linen Shirt in Grey with PP Casual Linen Trousers in Oatmeal is cool in the heat and looks considered at every tasting table; both are in the men's linen collection. A hat is wise, since the sun at midday is strong and much of the tram route is unshaded.

Lunch is the main event. Estates such as Leeu Estates and Boschendal, the latter on the road towards Stellenbosch, serve long meals at tables under oaks or on verandas looking over the vines, and Babylonstoren, a little further away near Simondium, sets its tables beside a celebrated garden. On the women's side, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Coral Orange suits an afternoon of this kind on its own, and the PP linen blouse in Lemon with loose trousers works just as well. The women's linen collection carries both, along with the Linen Ladies Set in Dubarry for warmer, more casual days. The table itself, and what a vineyard lunch asks for, is a subject of its own.

Linen is suited to the valley's heat for a simple reason. It is woven from flax, a fibre that absorbs moisture from the skin and lets it evaporate, and its open structure allows air through. On a still January afternoon in a valley ringed by mountains, a loose linen shirt is noticeably more comfortable than a denser cotton one, and it does not cling when you stand up from the table.

Evenings bring a different temperature. When the sun leaves the valley, the air cools quickly, and dinner on Main Road, at La Residence or in one of the restaurants with terraces facing the mountains, calls for a sleeve. A Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Beige Cream with PP Trousers 100% Linen in Sapphire Blue strikes the right note: relaxed, but dressed for the occasion.

The valley pairs naturally with a few days in the city. The journal's guide to what to wear in Cape Town covers Camps Bay, the V&A Waterfront and the Atlantic seaboard, where the wind changes everything again, and linen on the Atlantic seaboard has a page of its own. The Pieter Petros collection is presented at four resort boutiques in Dubai, a common connection for flights south from the Gulf.

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