Three ways to wear Alternative Girls, and the through line is that only one thing should be doing the talking. The details that give a cheap version away are lining, edge finishing and the weight of the fastenings. Buying the same silhouette from a brand that makes it properly ages better than buying a near-copy of a famous one. Hold it up to the light. Opacity is the thing product photography hides best. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is shoulder seam, sleeve length and opacity. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: ALT Swim's Thessaly Crochet Halter Top - Ivory at $140, and Dagne Dover's Varsity Logo T-shirt in Moonbeam, 2X at $45. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. The shoulder seam should sit on the bone, not past it. Hold it up to the light. Opacity is the thing product photography hides best. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

If the top is the point, keep everything below it plain. From the second group, Jenni Kayne's Barrett Cardigan ($345) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, tops, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 pieces here from 16 brands, $25 to $695, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. eddiebauer.com's Women's Favorite Short-Sleeve Crew T-Shirt at $25 is the low-risk way in, and alcltd.com's Nadia Satin Gown at $695 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. Read as a set, they get you close to Alternative Girls without any single purchase being compulsory. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: buy the one you can picture using this week, not the one you are saving for later.