Khaite's the Goal—H&M's the Budget: This Chic $27 Halter Dress Is All You Need
I have an obsessive personality, which can, like most things, be a good thing or a bad thing. It's a good thing when it comes to cleaning, editing, or washing my face at night no matter how late it is. It's a bad thing, though, when I find something that I desperately want that I simply cannot afford. I'll think about said item day and night, stalking sales and resale sites until my screen time is up 500%.
Here's a perfect example: Last February, Khaite held a runway show in SoHo, where the brand debuted a high-neck halter dress in a fitted, ribbed fabric that came to the model's lower shins. It was perfectly sculpted, and the neckline epitomized elegance and refinement. I zeroed in on the dress, feasting over its every thread and waiting patiently until it became available. When it did, I immediately started saving. But with life comes expenses, and given the dress's lofty price tag, I still haven't quite been able to give it a home in my closet.
Shop:
I'd almost lost all hope until I was scrolling through H&M's new arrivals this morning and stumbled across a truly Earth-shattering halter dress that checks off many of the same boxes as the one I've been pining over for the last nine months but at a quarter of the price. In fact, it's on sale for Cyber Monday, putting it at just $27. Suffice it to say, I ordered it immediately. After all of that, there's no way I'd risk it selling out. Though it hasn't arrived, I'm confident it'll hit the spot while I save up for my one true love.
Ahead, shop the $27 H&M dress I bought to check off the rising halter-dress trend, which brands like Alaïa, Bottega Veneta, Versace, and more are all backing for 2024.
Shop the $27 H&M alt I'm buying to get the Khaite look:
Shop the halter-dress trend:
If it's lace in 2023, I probably have it in my shopping cart.
I saw someone wearing this dress at the Miami Grand Prix this summer, and wow, it's somehow even better in person.
This is like lingerie but better because you can wear it anywhere and everywhere.
Our editorial director, Lauren Eggertsen, just bought this dress and has been raving about it ever since.
The sleeveless, sand-colored version of this Khaite dress is a true jaw-dropper.
The way this dress can be worn in like 100 different ways astounds me.
I have the patterned version of this linen halter dress, and the fit is a true 11/10.
Eliza Huber is a New York City–based fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and celebrity style. She joined Who What Wear in 2021 after almost four years on the fashion editorial team at Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Iowa. She has since launched two monthly columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled the likes of Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, and Sabrina Carpenter for WWW's monthly cover features; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top trends from fashion month, season after season. Eliza now lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, running in Central Park, and scouring eBay for '90s Prada and '80s Yves Saint Laurent.
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