What to pack for a jaunt to Marbella

In my mind it is impossible to separate summer from Marbella; it is a metonym for my life in the months of July and August. I may toy with the idea of visiting the Scrovegni Chapel to acquaint myself with the Giotto frescoes, or touring the baroque beauties of Noto, but I know they will remain unvisited by me this summer, as they were last, because come the end of July it is my ordained destiny to tread the familiar path through the lush gardens of the Marbella Club to the beach.

I have an office and I work, but there is something magical about the elasticity of time on this southern tip of the European littoral. Even if I get up from my desk at 4pm, there is time to have a late lunch, an afternoon swim, cigar, game of backgammon and still prepare for whatever the evening holds. I suppose the appeal is that it is not really a holiday at all, but more a continuation of my life in brighter, hotter surroundings.

Cifonelli linen Teba jacket 

Summer isn’t summer without a safari jacket and there is panache and practicality aplenty with those pockets. But there are safaris and then there are Cifonelli safaris. Lorenzo Cifonelli is forever experimenting with the form and this year he has created a completely unconstructed garment that maintains the shirt cuff and pleated flapped pocket of the classic safari, but dresses things up with a handkerchief-ready out-breast pocket and notched lapel. €750, cifonelli.com

Lorenzi Bic lighter holder 

Earlier this year when I was leaving Havana after the annual cigar festival, I fell victim to a particularly rigorous airport search and found several items confiscated, including a much-treasured Dupont lighter. It was useless trying to explain that I had travelled all over the world with it in my pocket without a hint of a problem, and I felt a deep sense of injustice as this valuable device was consigned to a big yellow dustbin. My compromise is a disposable lighter sheath by Lorenzi, covered with staghorn: it is different, decorative and at the first inkling of a baggage search all I have to do is extract the disposable plastic lighter and hand it over. £230, Connolly, 4 Clifford Street, London W1 (020-7952 6708)

Valextra sunglasses case with lanyard 

Since my corneal transplants a few years ago, I have embraced the world of ophthalmological accessories. When in Spain I am constantly swapping work spectacles for prescription sunglasses, so was delighted to come across the Valextra glasses case with lanyard. The shape and concept of the case reminds me of the old pleather covers that Persol used to make for the 649 (the only slight problem was they used to rot), and the addition of the lanyard comes perilously close to making functionality chic – happily the pale-cream leather rescues it from outright practicality. £380, valextra.com 

Vilebrequin shirt and swim-short combo

I am not prejudiced against matchy-matchy, but even if I were I would make an exception for Vilebrequin’s shirt and swim-short combos. Smart enough for lunch at the beach club but cool in the afternoon sun thanks to the shirt’s translucent voile, they seem to function like wearable air-con. And much like a dark suit in the city, it takes away the effort of deciding what to wear by the sea. Voile shirts, £210, matching swim-shorts, £230, vilebrequin.com

Fallon Cigar Case 

Patrick Fallon changed the world of personal cigar transportation when he launched his range of cigar sleeves in a variety of bright buffalo hides. Cheerful aesthetic aside, it is the special Fallon seal that maintains the humidity of the precious contents – apparently, you can bury them in the snow, or go swimming with them, and the cigars remain in perfect condition. I am unlikely to try this, but can report that I once spilled an entire bottle of water over a Fallon case, and the contents emerged unscathed. From £550, davidofflondon.com

Bel summer shirt 

Bel is the Barcelona outfitter that invented the Bel Teba – the ultimate unstructured shirt jacket, and its expertise in summer shirts is invaluable.  The summer shirt is not just a business shirt worn untucked, it is a garment that is specially cut to be worn over trousers and to convey a relaxed, yet chic look, with slits at the side, straight shirt tails, and collars that are soft (or even non-existent). These are perfect sans jacket, even for relatively formal dinners, and are a godsend considering the heat in early to mid-August scarcely distinguishes between day and night. Bel has created three such shirts loosely inspired by the Cuban guayabera: the Florida, the Capri and the Lido, all designed to be worn untucked – a summer holiday is simply unimaginable without at least one of them. POA, belycia.com