We Found the Best Spring Dress Trend—and It’s Under $150

Tara Gonzalez

If you spent any time outside between April and September last year, chances are you saw a very specific dress hundreds of times. It has ruffles, it comes in a vaguely floral-slash-spotted pattern, and it shows some skin around the clavicle area. It works with all kind of shoe trends from cowboy boots to sandals to Dr. Martens. This dress is basically spring incarnate, which is partly why it's everywhere.

Though plenty of brands offered their own version of The Dress, it was Réalisation Par's Alexandra that took over Instagram. Naturally, it's the brainchild of an OG fashion influencer, Alexandra Spencer of 4thandbleeker. So she knows a thing or two about what looks good on your feed.

Buy Now: Réalisation Par The Alexandra Dress, $195, available at Réalisation Par
Buy Now: Réalisation Par The Alexandra Dress, $195, available at Réalisation Par

Much like Spencer's infamous cheetah slip skirt, her namesake dress went viral shortly after it was released. A quick refresher:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjQoeBejFgV/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp-6J38nsnP/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfpOTAiBYel/

The appeal of the Alexandra dress is obvious: It's simple, it's pretty, and it's easy. And at $195, it's not necessarily going to break the bank, but it's also not inexpensive, especially for a dress that thousands of people already own.

Around the same time, other Instagram-favorite fashion brands were releasing new iterations of The Dress. Reformation, for one, had the super-popular Sicilia Dress, which featured a lot of the same beloved features of the Alexandra: the mini length, the ruffle details, the simple silhouette, and the springy pattern.

Buy Now: Reformation Sicilia Dress, $198, available at Reformation
Buy Now: Reformation Sicilia Dress, $198, available at Reformation

There's also the Lucky Dress, which lacks the ruffle detail but has all the other ingredients.

Buy Now: Reformation Lucky Dress, $198, Reformation

After seeing The Dress and dresses inspired by The Dress everywhere, I finally felt the urge to buy one. But every time I clicked "add to cart," I just couldn't check out. If I was going to drop nearly $200 on something, I wanted it to be something that everyone else didn't already own. It had to feel unique, special—but still easy.

This desire sent me on a deep, deep online shopping spiral, seeking an affordable alternative. And after much research, I've determined that $150 or less is just the amount I'm willing to spend on this spring essential. So here are the best 12 options I could find. They look just like The Dress, but a little different—which, in my book, makes them even better.

Tara Gonzalez is the commerce editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram at @tarigonzalez.