Lovers and Friends is one of those labels I knew long before I knew who made it, and the answer is two people. Raissa Gerona had run her own line, Brigid Catiis, until the recession closed it, and afterwards a retail founder named Michael Mente called her with an offer to fund something new. Mitch Moseley had sold Mente a menswear brand years earlier.

The two launched Lovers + Friends in Los Angeles in 2011 and it quickly found its way into hundreds of stores. Their company, Alliance Apparel, went on to add Tularosa and NBD, and was acquired in 2015, with Gerona staying on in a senior brand role.

What I like is that the clothes never pretend to be anything other than what they are: Los Angeles going-out clothes, built for a calendar full of dinners, birthdays and the occasional wedding.

This is the heart of the label, and the range is wider than the bandage-dress reputation suggests. The Quinn Embellished Mini Dress and the Berner Mini Dress are pure party, all shine and short hemlines. The Laura Maxi Dress and Millie Sheer Maxi Dress go the other way, long and easy enough for a garden lunch.

Then come the gowns. The Elarra Bandage Gown and the Alice Strapless Gown are the ones I would save for a black-tie wedding where you want to look polished but not stiff. In my fashion dreams she is walking into a rooftop dinner in the Maya Gown, sequins catching the last of the sun.

One tip: try the bodycon pieces a size up if you are between sizes, because they are cut close and the maxis are not.

Lovers and Friends tops are made to go with a skirt or jeans you already own. The Josephine Top is the one I would pick first, because it turns denim into a dinner outfit with no fuss. The Breakfast Club Tank is the casual counterpart, and the Hudson Hoodie is the label at its most laid back.

Picture her on a Saturday in Silver Lake: the Cassie Top, a straight jean, gold hoops and a coffee in hand. That is the Lovers and Friends customer on her day off.

The label also makes the layer that goes over the dress. The Romee Block Jacket and the Candra Jacket are cropped and structured, so they sit neatly over a mini without swallowing it. The Meredith Denim Jacket is the one I would reach for on a cool summer night.

The jewelry is where I would start adding. The Kelsey Earrings and Mabel Earrings are the kind of finishing touch I would pick up with a dress so the outfit is done before I get home. The Mireya Belt and Lanie Tote round things out. What I would skip: the belt, if the dress already has a waist.

Fifteen years on, Lovers and Friends is still a Los Angeles label first. It came out of two founders who knew their customer before most brands did, and it still dresses her for the night out rather than the runway. When I want a dress that will photograph well and survive a long night, this is where I look first. Although I will admit the sequins usually win. I went deeper on a related idea in Dresses for Women Under 500: Lovers and Friends Minis and Maxis.