Resort wear is a category that runs on printed polyester and the difference between that and applied work is immediately visible. Hemant and Nandita use beading, sequin work and applique across the Reem Halter Neck Mini Dress and the Tehr One Shoulder Long Dress, and the weight of the finished garment is the tell. Indian ateliers have supplied European houses with this kind of work for decades without credit, so a label doing it under its own name is worth noting. The Saba Long Dress and the Sama Long Dress are the fullest expressions of the technique. That level of surface work cannot be faked at speed.

A resort label that only makes dresses is a holiday purchase rather than a brand. The Pahi Romper and the Pahi Shorts share a treatment, which means they can be worn together or broken up across a week. The Sama Mini Skirt takes the same surface as the Sama Long Dress onto a separate, which is the most useful thing a label like this can offer. The Niru Bustier is the piece with the most styling range, working over a trouser as easily as with the matching pieces. Offering the same embellishment on both a dress and a skirt is how a customer justifies more than one purchase.

Revolve carries a much deeper run of the separates, and they are where I would start building a trip. The Halter Neck Top and the Straight Pants share a navy dot, so they work as a set or apart, and the Maxi Skirt is a blue satin floral that needs only a plain top. For tops, the Strapless Top and the Bustier Top are cropped florals, the Boxy Top comes in butter yellow and in a brown floral, the Smocked Top is a deep burgundy with long sleeves, and the Boho Shirt is the white one I would throw over a swimsuit. The Oversized Shirt with a rust print, the brown Oversized Polka Dot Shirt and the Oversized Shirt With Hand Crafted Buttons are the ones to wear open.

For skirts, the Pintuck Maxi Skirt is pale yellow, the Long Skirt and the Midi Skirt are florals in blue and in peach, the Fitted Midi Skirt is a brown floral, and the A Line Ankle Length Skirt is a brown paisley that would carry a plain white top. The Harem Pants in a blue floral and the Straight Pants in a white floral are the ones for the flight home. What I would skip: buying a top and skirt in two different prints. One print and one plain piece looks more deliberate.

The rest of the Hemant and Nandita resort line is mostly print, from floral minis to a long ruffle caftan, and it is a long, happy run of it. I would take the corseted maxi or the Skater dress first, since the print does the work and the shape is easy to pack.

The longer dresses are where the label leans into color. The Crew Neck Bias Maxi is cobalt with big pink flowers, the One Shoulder Sash Maxi is a bright turquoise, the Tiered Maxi Dresses come in butter yellow and in a yellow and blue floral, and the Abira One Shoulder Maxi is a hot pink that would carry a whole wedding weekend. The Bias Maxi Dress is the dark one, black with flowers and long sleeves, and the Bias Maxi Dress With Sash does the same in navy. For an easy layer, the Maxi Kaftan With Belt is mustard, the Maxi Kaftan is pale blue, and the x REVOLVE Teien Caftan is a dark floral.

In the middle lengths, the Cowl Midi is a mustard jacquard, the Boat Neck Midi is a red floral, the Corset Dress is a green floral, the Smocked Midi is white with small flowers, and the Mock Neck Midi has a brown swirl print. The x REVOLVE Veena Midi is green with one bare shoulder, and the Shirt Dress is plain white with a long slit.

For the short ones, the Ruffle Hem Mini is a black halter, the Strappy Mini is lilac, the Mini Dress is a plain brown, the Front Neck Wrapped Mini is a deep red and the Tube Balloon Mini is a pale blue strapless. The Slip On Mini and the Smocked Mini sit off the shoulder, in a paisley and in burgundy, and the Mini Dress Cape is the soft peach one with a cape that floats behind. What I would skip: a print dress with a print bag. Let one piece do the talking.

Hemant and Nandita are not the only label treating resort wear as craft rather than print, so I pulled dozens more pieces that hold up the same way. The common thread is hand-finished surface work or good fabric: beading, crochet, embroidery, fringe, linen and a few painterly prints.

Zimmermann's Aster Gathered Beaded Silk Camisole Top and Aster Scarf-Detailed Silk Maxi Skirt are the set I would pack first, because they work as a pair at dinner and apart at the pool. VERANDAH's Exclusive Sundowner Hand-Beaded Crepe de Chine Maxi Dress is the closest in spirit to the beadwork above, and SIRAPOP's Velma Crochet Sequin Dress and Lindsay Crochet Sequin Maxi Skirt mix crochet with sequins. Marrakshi Life weaves its cotton on hand looms in Marrakech, and its Column Cotton Maxi Dress is the one for long, hot days. For the shorter end, ALÉMAIS's Bridgette Linen Mini Dress, Johanna Ortiz's Inundada de Color Printed Cotton Mini Dress and Posse's Essie Fringed Linen Mini Kaftan go straight over a swimsuit. Then there are St. Agni's silk halter wrap top and adjustable balloon pants, Peixoto's smocked Loretta maxi dress, Agua Bendita's Ambra mini, BAOBAB's striped Zur cover-up skirt and Coniglio Palm Beach's ruffle pareo.

The longer run at the end is designer pieces for the nights when a trip turns into dinner. Pucci's embroidered kaftan and Etro's fringe-trimmed kaftan go over a swimsuit or a slip dress, Valentino's Flowerism top is pleated silk crepe, and Carolina Herrera's strapless hydrangea column gown and Marmar Halim's pleated chiffon gown are for a wedding abroad. Curatoria's short chaguar poncho is the piece I would carry for a cool night by the water.

My test for resort pieces is the suitcase. Roll the piece tightly, unroll it an hour later and see whether it still looks like itself. Linen will crease and that is fine, but beading should sit flat and sequins should not snag.

What I would skip: anything that only works with one pair of shoes. On a trip, every piece has to earn its space.

There is a lot of resort wear that exists only for a specific week and very little that survives being brought home, and this sits on the right side of that line. The Niru Bustier is the most versatile piece here and the most likely to be worn in a city. The one-shoulder Tehr is the most dramatic and the most single-purpose. The Pahi separates are the sensible buy because a romper and a short in the same treatment cover most of a warm trip. I would take the Niru Bustier and the Pahi shorts, then one long dress for the last night.

For a Paris counterpart with the same love of Indian craft, I would turn to Thierry Colson.