What to Wear in Early Fall When It's Hot by Day and Cold by Night

The mistake most of us make is switching the base layer first. Don't. Keep wearing the backless camisole and the lightweight skirts you've had on all August — early fall heat is still real heat, and a heavy knit next to your skin has nowhere to go once the sun is out.

What changes is what you carry. Denim shorts and a tank read summer alone, but the same pair of high-rise denim shorts under a shirt jacket reads September immediately.

A shacket is the single most useful transitional garment there is: heavier than a shirt, lighter than a coat, and structured enough that it doesn't look like you grabbed something on the way out. The hooded flannel shacket works over a dress, over a tee, and tied at the waist when the temperature swings back up.

If plaid isn't your language, a cropped denim shirt does the same job with a cleaner line and pairs better with prints.

Nothing signals a season change like footwear. Swap a sandal for a lace-up boot and a sundress instantly becomes an early-fall outfit — same dress, different month.

Hold onto the cork footbed slides for daytime errands, though. There's no reason to suffer through a 90-degree Tuesday in leather.