Men's Tops

Men's tops: shirts, polos, jumpers, zip-ups and T-shirts, in cotton, linen, knit and wool. The right top depends on what is under it and what goes over. Start with the category you are missing: a good shirt, a knit polo or a layer. For the polo edit, see men's polo shirts.

Shirts

Cotton shirts for work (tailored-fit stretch cotton, striped with point collar); linen shirts with chest pocket for heat; striped band-collar and mandarin-collar shirts for a collarless look; the open-knit button shirt with horizontal stripes and the relaxed-fit Tencel-blend overshirt for layering. Collar type is stated in the title.

Polos and tees

Polos fill the gap between a shirt and a T-shirt: knit polos for dinner, cotton-blend polos for every day, the linen polo for heat. The ribbed T-shirt in linen-cotton and the long-sleeve crewneck T-shirt in cotton-linen are the base layers.

Knitwear

When it gets cold, the half-zips, polo jumpers and crewnecks in this edit take over; the full range by fibre is in men's knitwear.

Sizing tops

Check the cut named in the title before choosing a size: tailored and slim shirts sit close; oversized and relaxed styles run roomy. A knit polo has more give than a woven shirt.

Layering tops

A T-shirt under a polo, a polo under a half-zip, a half-zip under a jacket. Keep collars flat from the inside out: the softer collar goes underneath.

Sets that sit here

The linen shirt-and-trousers sets and the short-sleeve polo-and-trousers set appear in this edit because the top is the lead piece. They are listed with the full set contents in the title.

Occasion in one line

Office: tailored-fit stretch cotton shirt. Dinner: diamond-texture knit polo. Beach: short-sleeve linen shirt. Cold weekend: cable-knit half-zip. Each is in this edit.

Colour

Most tops here are plain or quietly striped. Buy the plain ones first; a striped band-collar shirt or the vertical-stripe knit polo is the accent, not the base.