Cardigans

On, off, over the shoulders, round the waist: a cardigan adapts to the weather, the room and your mood without a word of complaint. It is the most forgiving piece in any wardrobe, and this edit of women's cardigans is built around that idea, with layers that make a plain top look finished and keep the chill off when the evening turns. Plenty of us keep one on the back of a chair all year round.

Longline cardigans give a long, easy line over trousers and dresses. Button-front classics look neat over a blouse, and open-front styles drape over a summer frock. Then come the prints, florals, polka dots, vintage-inspired motifs and art-print designs that look as if they came from a little gallery shop, alongside plain black, pink, green and blue for the days when the cardigan should stay in the background. The prints are the fun end of the collection; the plain styles are the ones you will reach for without thinking. Some styles come in one size, others in a full run of sizes.

If you run warm, a cardigan over a sleeveless top is the simplest answer: a layer that comes off the moment a room heats up and goes back on for the walk home. A longline style over one of our dresses suits a smart lunch, a classic buttoned over a blouse suits the office, and ladies cardigans of any shape work open over jeans at the weekend. When the real cold arrives, our jumpers step in.

Most of us own more women's cardigans than we would admit, and wear the same two. Buy the next one for the dress you already love; it will end up on your shoulders over everything else too. That is how you know you chose well.