Luckily, there are a few options these days that involve more mindful consumption. First, you can choose to rent your wedding guest or big-birthday dress from destinations such as Hurr, Rotaro or By Rotation. Another option is turning to vintage or second-hand resellers such as Vestiaire Collective to give an existing dress a new lease on life. But if you’re thinking you’d still like to invest in a new dress to wear for lots of occasions, the key is versatility. Find something that you can dress up and down, and you’ll get double the amount of wear out of it in the years that follow. Beautiful dresses shouldn’t just be kept for best, after all.
The ability to wear something for a range of events and across different seasons is something I always try to consider before investing in any wardrobe piece these days—but especially dresses. And so below, I’ve included five styles that have particularly impressed me this season for their versatility and added suggestions to show exactly how I’d wear them dressed up for a wedding and also for everyday outings like office days and park dates.
Keep scrolling to see and shop the styles you’ll never regret buying.
:quality(85):upscale()/2026/05/11/678/n/1922564/5eada73d6a01f2d3b10453.48636618_.jpg "Lisa Wore an Under-0 Bra Top to the Met Gala After Parties Plus More Celebrity Looks")
