What to wear in 60 degree weather, for a man, comes down to four pieces: a tee, henley or oxford shirt; one light layer you can take off; full-length chinos or jeans; and closed shoes. The layer does the work. Make it an overshirt, an unlined jacket or a thin sweater. Dress for the coldest hour you'll spend outside, usually the morning or the walk home, not the afternoon high. Skip the heavy coat, skip sandals, and in most cases skip shorts.

Sixty degrees is a one-layer temperature. Get the layer right and every other choice gets easy, which is why I build every 60 degree outfit for a client in the same order:

• Base: a tee, long-sleeve tee, henley or oxford. Cotton, nothing thermal.

• Layer: an overshirt, light jacket, unstructured blazer or fine-gauge sweater. One layer, not two.

• Pants: jeans, chinos or light wool trousers. Full length.

• Shoes: sneakers, loafers, suede chukkas or Chelsea boots. Closed toe.

Most clothes for 60 degree weather are already in your closet. Dressing for 60 degree weather goes wrong at the layer: guys either skip it and spend the morning cold, or grab a winter coat and carry it all afternoon. If you're planning men's fall outfits for this season, start with the layer and build down.

Sixty is rarely exactly 60. The forecast says 58, or 64, or 68, and each few degrees changes the layer. This is what I'd put a client in across the whole range, followed by the detail for each band.

Below 60, the layer stops being optional. At 55, 57 or 58 degrees, I want a knit under the jacket, or a jacket heavy enough to do the job alone. A merino crewneck under a denim trucker is the simplest version: thin enough to sit under a jacket without bulk, warm enough for a shady street.

If you're choosing a sweater by knit weight, go fine-gauge here and save the chunky cable knit for real cold. Swap canvas sneakers for leather or suede. What to wear in 58 degree weather and what to wear at 55 are nearly the same answer; the difference is whether the knit stays on past lunch.

This is the textbook 60 degree day, and the formula works exactly as written. At 61, 62 or 63 degrees, wear long sleeves, or a tee under an overshirt, with jeans or chinos and sneakers.

A cotton twill overshirt is the piece I reach for most in this band. It's warm enough for the morning, it looks finished buttoned or open, and when the sun comes out it works like a jacket over a tee. Corduroy does the same job with a little more warmth on a gray day.

The low 60s outfit that goes wrong is the hoodie under a heavy jacket: two warm layers where one would do. If you'll be in shade most of the day, add a thin knit. In full sun, leave the overshirt open and push the sleeves up.

Sixty-five degrees is the tipping point. The layer is still there in the morning, but by noon it's something you carry, so the layer has to get lighter. Trade the knit for a lighter overshirt or an unlined jacket, and short sleeves become comfortable in the sun.

At 64 degrees, I'd still start the day in long sleeves. At 66, a tee under an open overshirt is enough for most of the day. Either way, the 65 degree weather outfit I'd give most men looks like this: a white or gray tee, a light cotton overshirt, chinos and clean leather sneakers. It works for errands and for dinner, and every piece has a reason to be there.

Men's clothes for 65 degrees should be lighter in fabric, not fewer in number. Keep the layer and change its weight: lighter twill instead of corduroy, an unlined jacket instead of a chore coat, a cotton knit instead of merino. Casual 65 degree weather outfits follow the same rule: a lighter layer, not no layer.

The mistake I see most at 65 is the guy who dresses for summer at 9 a.m., then spends the evening cold on a patio. The forecast high is the warmest hour, not the whole day.

In the high 60s, short sleeves are the default and the layer is optional during the day. At 67, 68 or 69 degrees, a tee or polo with chinos and sneakers covers the afternoon comfortably.

The only real question is the evening. Temperatures fall quickly once the sun goes down, especially in spring and fall, so a 68 degree weather outfit needs a plan for 8 p.m.: a light cotton or linen shirt jacket you can throw over the tee, or a long-sleeve shirt worn with the sleeves rolled until you need them.

This is also the one band where shorts start to make sense, with a few conditions covered further down. If you're dressing for a high 60s day that ends indoors, you can skip the layer entirely.

Sixty degrees is mild: cool in shade, comfortable in sun with one light layer. Most people find it pleasant in long sleeves and a little chilly in a tee alone.

The number on the forecast is only half the picture. My rule of thumb: in full sun, dress as if it's a few degrees warmer, and in wind or under heavy cloud, dress as if it's a few degrees colder. In my experience, damp air makes 60 feel cooler than dry air does. In practice, 60 degrees feels cold enough for sleeves at 7 a.m. and warm enough to push them up by noon, which is exactly why a removable layer beats a warm one.

Under the layer, wear something that works on its own, because by afternoon it might be all you have on. A plain tee, a long-sleeve tee, a henley or an oxford all pass that test.

On a cool morning, the henley is the strongest of the four: long sleeves, a bit more texture than a tee, and an open placket that keeps it casual. That's usually when a henley beats a tee. An oxford is the dressier choice and the one I'd pick for the office.

Is 60 degrees sweater weather? At the low end and after dark, yes. Pick a fine-gauge merino or cotton crewneck, thin enough to sit under a jacket. Is it hoodie weather? On a weekend, yes, worn alone in the sun or under a trucker jacket in the shade. At the office, no. And 60 degrees is t-shirt weather only under a layer or in full sun.

Full-length pants, every time. Jeans, chinos and lighter wool trousers all work, so choose by occasion rather than temperature. Mid-weight denim in a dark or mid wash is the most versatile, and the jeans playbook covers picking a jean fit and wash. Chinos in khaki, olive or navy are the dressier default. Save linen trousers for the upper 60s.

For shoes, stay closed-toe: leather or canvas sneakers, loafers, suede chukkas or Chelsea boots. Suede is at its best in this range, dry and mild, though it needs a protector spray before a damp morning. Loafers can go sockless in the high 60s; below that, wear thin socks. Here's how to wear penny loafers without getting it wrong. No sandals: at 60 degrees, bare feet look like you misread the forecast.

Mostly no. For a grown man in town, 60 degrees is still pants weather, and shorts tend to look like you dressed for the afternoon and got caught by the morning.

There are exceptions. In full sun in the high 60s, at a backyard barbecue, in a beach town or at a casual afternoon game, shorts can work. If you wear them, balance bare legs with coverage up top: a long-sleeve tee, a henley, or a tee with a light overshirt. Shorts with an overshirt look intentional. Shorts with a tank top at 62 degrees look like a mistake.

Choose shorts that hit just above the knee, in chino cotton rather than athletic fabric, and wear them with sneakers. Should you wear shorts today in 60 degree weather? If you'll be outside after 5 p.m., the answer is almost always no.

On a day that starts in 50 to 60 degree weather and reaches 70 by mid-afternoon, dress for the coldest hour, then choose a top layer that's easy to carry. That's the rule I give every client who commutes.

It means two light layers instead of one heavy one. A heavy coat is right at 7 a.m. and dead weight at 2 p.m. A tee, a fine knit and an overshirt cover the same morning, and by afternoon the knit is in your bag and the overshirt is open. Here is how that plays out across one day:

• 8 a.m., 52 degrees: tee, merino crewneck, overshirt buttoned.

• Lunch, 66 degrees: crewneck off, overshirt open, sleeves pushed up.

• 7 p.m., 60 degrees: overshirt buttoned again, crewneck back on if you're eating outside.

Same clothes, three temperatures, and nothing to carry but one sweater. If the morning starts closer to 48, swap the overshirt for a chore coat. What to wear in 60 to 70 degree weather follows the same logic with a lighter layer: skip the knit and keep the overshirt.

At the office, the layer has to look right on and off, because the commute is cool and most offices run warm. That rules out the hoodie and the puffy vest, and it rules in the unstructured blazer and the overshirt.

My default for what to wear to work in 60 degree weather is an oxford shirt, chinos or light wool trousers, loafers, and an unstructured blazer for the commute. Take the blazer off at your desk and the oxford still looks finished. In a more casual office, swap the blazer for a cotton twill overshirt. If you're not sure how formal yours is, our guide shows where business casual draws the line.

October's 60 and April's 60 need different clothes. In fall, 60 usually sits between a cold morning and a colder night, and the sun is lower. In spring, 60 tends to come with more sun and a warmer afternoon.

So in fall, lean darker and heavier: corduroy, flannel, suede and merino in olive, brown, rust and navy. Spring 60 degree weather outfits go lighter in both senses: cotton twill, light denim and linen blends in stone, light blue, white and sage. The silhouette stays the same; the fabric and the palette change.

That's the piece of 60 degree weather fashion advice I wish more guys followed: don't wear your April overshirt in October and wonder why you're cold. Dressing for the spring shift starts with lighter versions of the same pieces you wore in the fall.

Buy what you wear all year, and rent the layer you only need for a few weeks each spring and fall. That's the wear-count argument, and it starts with what's worth owning.

Your tees, oxfords, chinos and jeans work in nearly every season. You'll wear them dozens of times a year, so buying them is the obvious call, and so is owning one jacket you reach for every week.

The 55 to 69 degree layer is different. It works for a short window twice a year, and the fall version and the spring version aren't the same piece: corduroy and merino in October, light twill and cotton knits in April. Buying both means owning clothes that sit in a closet for most of the year.

That's where renting makes sense. With Taelor, a stylist picks the pieces and you swap them when the weather turns, so you can rent the in-between layer: the overshirts, light sweaters, cardigans and blazers. Your own money goes to the base.