Long before anyone came to Kimolos for its beaches, the island was known for its earth. The pale clay dug from its hills gave its name to Cimolian earth, which ancient writers described as a fuller's earth: a mineral used for cleaning and finishing cloth. That history makes a fitting introduction to what to wear in Kimolos. This is an island that has always lived close to its materials, and garments of natural fibre, cut simply, sit comfortably in it.

Kimolos lies just off the north-eastern tip of Milos. Small ferries make the crossing from Pollonia in well under an hour, and the larger boats of the western Cyclades route call on their way from Piraeus. There is no airport. You land at Psathi, a short quay with a few tavernas, and walk or take a taxi up to Chorio, the main village, where the old Kastro stands at the centre: a fortified settlement in which the outer houses themselves form the wall. The resident population is around a thousand, and most of what happens on the island happens within sight of the church domes of Chorio.

The days are spent outdoors, on foot or at the water. Prassa, on the north-east coast, has sand of an unusual whiteness and water that turns almost green above it, the colour taken from the pale rock that also gave the island its clay. For the beach, the PP natural swim shorts in Sapphire Blue or Oyster are for the sea itself, cut in 100% Belgian linen with a walnut button at the back pocket. Caiques run from Psathi to Polyaigos, the uninhabited island to the south-east with its sea caves, and that trip is a swimming day from start to finish: swim shorts, a hat and nothing else that minds getting wet.

Back on land, the shirt comes into its own. The walk to Skiadi, the mushroom-shaped rock carved by the wind on the island's western side, crosses open hillside with little shade. A Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt in Light Blue, worn loose with PP linen shorts in White, keeps the body cool without exposing the shoulders, and it travels in a day bag without fuss. On a dusty path the lightness of the cloth matters more than any other quality of the shirt; the Laos and its neighbours are on the PP linen shirts page. For women, the ladies linen set in Mint Green, a blouse with matching shorts, is equally suited to the path and the taverna at the end of it.

Evenings gather in Chorio. The village is compact, the lanes are paved and whitewashed, and dinner is taken on small terraces where the dress is relaxed but considered. A man in a Cuba Linen Shirt in Blue with PP Casual Linen Trousers in Sapphire Blue is dressed exactly as the setting expects. A woman in the Amelia linen dress shirt in Hibiscus, worn on its own with flat sandals, needs nothing more. Like the men's pieces, it is in a fibre that takes the evening breeze rather than holding the warmth of the day, and it sits with the rest of the women's linen collection.

Kimolos runs on the same seasons as its neighbour. From May to the end of September, ferries are frequent and the meltemi can blow hard in July and August; in October the crossings thin out and some tavernas close for the winter. Readers combining the two islands will find that the wardrobe described in what to wear in Milos carries over with almost no change, since the two coasts share their light, their rock and their pace. The difference is one of scale. Milos has Plaka, Adamas and a long list of beaches; Kimolos has one village, one harbour and a handful of coves, and a single small bag is sufficient for a stay of several days.

There is a practical point about colour. The island's ground is pale, its houses are white and its sea is unusually bright, so mid-tones such as Light Blue, Mint Green or Vanille sit more easily against it than starker contrasts. White works too, particularly at night, when Chorio is lit softly and the lanes are quiet.

At Goupa and Rema, on the coast below Chorio, the fishermen's boathouses are cut into the soft rock at the waterline, their doors painted in the colours of the boats moored in front of them.

Read more: The Linen Brand for Milos  ·  What to Wear in Sifnos  ·  Linen for Island Hopping