The Best Overshirts To See You Through Autumn

Let's be honest, summer is just an unnecessary distraction from buying and wearing lovely big coats. Sun tans? Day drinking? Both fine, but filling your wardrobe with near-identical outerwear is what life is really about. But luckily the British summertime gives you plenty of cloud and rain-based opportunities to layer up. That's where overshirts come in.

Heavier than a normal shirt and lighter than a jacket, leading many (lazy, incorrect) people to dub them ‘shackets’, the understated overshirt has roots in utilitarian 20th century workwear but has become a style staple over the past decade. They come in a variety of fabrics – twill, cotton, chambray, you pick – but all put in a shift against unpredictable weather. What's more, they can slide underneath your coat to lend you extra layers in the frosty depths of winter. You need one, in other words.

To help you out we’ve rounded up some of the best overshirts available right now, from independent British brands such as Albam and Universal Works, as well as global outfitters like A Day's March and Barena Venezia...