White lace is high maintenance and completely worth it. There is nothing that photographs quite like it, nothing that reads quite so deliberately dressed up while still feeling romantic rather than overdone. The care label is the only real argument against it and we think that argument loses.

What we have pulled together here are the white lace dresses we actually want to wear. Not the stiff, overly bridal ones that look better on a hanger than a body. The ones with movement. The ones that work for a summer wedding, an evening out, a garden party where you want to look like you gave the occasion genuine thought. We have been strict about construction because lace done cheaply looks cheap immediately.

Fit matters more with lace than almost any other fabric because the texture draws the eye to exactly where the dress sits on your body. These are the ones that reward the extra trip to the dry cleaner.