Lisa Armstrong: My picks of the fashion bestsellers worth buying this season

Remember Zara’s geometric cotton summer dress? Marks & Spencer’s shawl-collared pink coat? Uniqlo’s nylon croissant bag?

Every few years, a handful of retail blockbusters become part of popular culture, perhaps because they’re exemplars that stand the test of time, perhaps due to hype.

With consumers deliberating more thoughtfully over each purchase, a genuinely groundbreaking piece of democratic design is worth knowing about. This neat, boxy cardigan-jacket by Sézane is so popular – 10,000 of the ecru had sold by the end of 2023 – that it now comes in 25 colours, with more on the way. A classic that transcends the one-season genre.

But when does mass ownership signal affordable excellence, and when does it prove that TikTok’s algorithms have got the better of sanity? Read on for the hits worth buying rather than bypassing. 

1. The independent British jewellery brand Missoma has its finger on what design-forward, budget-aware customers want. A case in point, these large twist earrings (also available in silver, which is increasingly popular) sit at the front of the ear and elevate whatever you are wearing.