Everything on this page is STAUD. Sarah Staudinger, a former fashion director at Reformation, started the label in Los Angeles in 2015 with George Augusto, and it began as a customization site where you could change sleeves and hems. They dropped that within about a month, because customers wanted the clothes exactly as designed, and that instinct for a finished, slightly vintage silhouette is still what I buy STAUD for.

The dresses below run from easy cotton day dresses to silk and satin pieces for evening. If you are buying one, decide first how often you will wear it, then pick the fabric that suits that life.

Order your usual size and check the shoulder and the waist first. Hems are cheap to fix and shoulders are not. The jump from $103 to $172 buys fabric and finishing, not a different idea, so decide how often you will actually wear it before you pay the top of the range. Lidia Silk Dress moves and drapes on the body, which is the version to buy if you want it to feel worn in rather than new.

This is where STAUD does its most grown-up work. Most of the silk here is a silk with a little stretch, so the bias-cut shapes like the Freda gown in zinc, the Lara slip in pear with its lace trim and the Charli low back hold close without clinging. The Portia comes two ways, a dark tapestry print and a burgundy satin with a tie detail, and the Davina and Marcel are gathered and ruched satin midis that move well.

For actual occasions, the Phoenix and Effie are black crepe midis with sequins and beading, the Albee mini has a feather trim, and the two Liliana maxis are tulle, one beaded and printed, one in tomato red. The Dalia is a bright green silk maxi, the Amara a strapless printed organza, and the Leda an ivory chiffon that would work for a summer wedding.

My test: sit down in it in the fitting room. Satin shows a seated crease immediately, and silk with stretch recovers.

What I would skip: heavy jewelry with the beaded and sequined pieces. They already did the work.

STAUD's day dresses are where the brand's love of a defined waist shows most. The Wells, Gwen and Wylie are paneled and pleated cotton poplin, which gives them structure in heat, and the Margi adds ruffles to the same idea. The Grazia comes in white and red gathered linen, and the Laura in a striped linen maxi and a printed linen mini.

For texture, the Isola is crocheted cotton in a halter mini and a maxi, the Tillie is fringed cotton gauze, and the Amalina is army green linen with lace trim. The Normandy is a merino sweater dress for colder days, and the Ellison is a pleated knit midi in cobalt.

My pairing tip: a poplin dress with a flat sandal for the day, the same dress with a slingback at night. The structure carries both.

What I would skip: sizing down in the poplin styles. There is very little stretch, so order your usual size and judge it on the shoulder.

Buy Lois Dress at $148. It sits in the middle of the range, and the middle is where you stop noticing any improvement in fabric and finishing. Craftsman Sweater Dress at $103 is the sensible first purchase if you have never owned one and are not sure how often you will wear it. Piazza Dress at $172 is the one to skip unless you already know the brand suits you, because at that price it spends most of its life on a hanger. Order your usual size and judge it on the shoulder and the waist. A hem is a cheap fix and a shoulder is not.