Colors That Go with Plum, briefly: it is a house signature that has been redrawn several times, and most of what people recognise is the proportion rather than the mark itself. A tonal outfit reads more expensive than a contrasting one at the same price. Matching exact shades is harder than matching temperature, so aim for warm with warm. Recognition is built by repetition over decades, which is why an imitation of the mark never carries the same weight. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is shoulder fit, length and how the fabric moves. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: Nobody's Child's Plum Floral Jacquard Fifi Maxi Dress at $130, and Kenneth Cole's Halter Neck Suit Dress at $104. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. A dress that fits the shoulders can be taken in anywhere else. One that does not, cannot. Lining is what stops a cheap fabric reading as cheap. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

A belt turns a shapeless dress into a deliberate one. Let the dress be the loudest thing you own that day. From the second group, Rails's TERRA JACKET - ESPRESSO ($388) 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, dresses, 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 15 brands, $24 to $460, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. nobodyschild.com's White Polka Dot Raven Midi Dress at $24 is the low-risk way in, and Arcina Ori's AVERY DRESS PLUM at $460 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On colors that go with plum specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. 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: pay for the thing that touches your body and economise on the thing that sits on top of it.