Crystal Bottoms, 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. The short version usually matters less than how the thing is used now. Most house signatures were practical marks before they were status ones. A dress that fits the shoulders can be taken in anywhere else. One that does not, cannot. 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: Jonathan Simkhai's Ginny Romper at $238, and Detoure's More To Come - Pastel Rainbow Knit Halter Mini Dress - XS (New With Tags) at $45. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. Lining is what stops a cheap fabric reading as cheap. Check where the waist seam sits on the model against your own proportions. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Let the dress be the loudest thing you own that day. A belt turns a shapeless dress into a deliberate one. From the second group, rebeccavallance.com's Freyja Cape Gown ($299) 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, knits, 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 13 brands, $30 to $799, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. betseyjohnson.com's BETSEY ICON TANK TOP WHITE at $30 is the low-risk way in, and rebeccavallance.com's Bacio Midi Dress at $799 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. Read as a set, they get you close to Crystal Bottoms 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: one considered purchase beats three hedged ones.