A practical autumn layering planner for busy parents: which bolero or coat to choose for half-term outings, indoor christenings, school concerts and pre-Christmas photo sessions. Includes a simple checklist for sizing a cover-up over a dress and keeping your daughter warm without hiding her outfit.

An Irish occasion day swings about eight degrees between the drinks reception and the speeches, so I plan my daughter's layers hour by hour instead of hoping one outfit will do. This guide sets out which bolero, cardigan or coat suits which dress silhouette, how to keep the cover-up on her shoulders for the photographs, and what to pack for a day that starts in sunshine and ends in a cold church porch or a marquee.

A British July wedding starts in sunshine and ends in a chilly marquee, which makes the bolero, cardigan and light coat the cleverest pieces in a child's occasion wardrobe. Our fashion critic judges them properly: where the hem should land, how to test a summer knit in five seconds, and whether the layer flatters the dress beneath or quietly smothers it. Five closing judgements included.