In My Most Worn, BAZAAR editors share the fashion items they cherish more than any others in their closets. Here, culture editor Bianca Betancourt explains why essentially anything by Mara Hoffman is worth the hype.

I’m a person who loves to celebrate, so much so that I often start brainstorming what I'm going to wear for special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, weekend getaways, et cetera) months in advance. Over the last year, I've continued to gravitate toward the same designer for milestone moments in my life—that designer being New York City fashion favorite Mara Hoffman.

My golden birthday weekend in Puerto Rico? I wore Mara Hoffman. A casual fete with my closest family and friends to celebrate my first cover story? Mara Hoffman. My surprise engagement weekend in New Orleans? Mara Hoffman. Seeing Beyoncé return to the stage in Dubai? Yes, Mara Hoffman for that too.

As a designer, Hoffman has the innate ability to force me out of my comfort zone—steering me away from my day-to-day neutral uniform and into vibrant prints or vivid colors. Her now-ubiquitous popcorn dress that comes in array of prints, lengths, and styles is a no-brainer for major parties, like when I saw Bey in Dubai (Beyoncé herself even wore one back in 2021). It's also a must for impromptu yet important events, like when I casually changed into the Sloan version upon landing in Louisiana, having no idea I'd be proposed to mere hours later. My only concern re: my outfit in that moment was that Instagram would see me wearing the dress again, proving its infinite ease and wearability—along with my dedication to looking fabulous while also feeling comfortable.

Wearing the Mara Hoffman Sloan Dress last summer.

It's important to note, I will never contort myself for the sake of a piece of clothing! That's the magic of Mara; her designs enhance a woman's body in all its forms, something that's become crucially important to me as a shopper as I inch closer and closer to turning 30 and embracing my "grown woman" shape. I can dance, I can eat, I can run to the subway, or run to a fashion show—you can do it all in a Mara outfit. I can also wholeheartedly promise that compliments from bystanders will be aplenty when you wear a dress of hers. I'm a proud proponent of the Mara Hoffman gospel. I'm a believer!

She is so much more than the popcorn dress, however. Her knits are incredibly well-made and soft on the body (I'm a huge fan of the Lucienne Dress, which I wore for my recent engagement shoot), and her silhouettes are universally flattering. She truly tells a story with her conscious collections (as seen on her ever-popular Instagram, many of the photos she takes herself), which is what ultimately draws me in to splurge on an item every season.

For my 28th birthday last year, I wore the multi-print Raya Twist-Front Crop Top and matching wrap skirt for a homecoming trip to Puerto Rico, seen below, which will surely be seen again come summertime and future beach trips. I'm already eyeing the Indya and Kana dresses in white as outfit options for my wedding weekend in the fall. Her dresses tend to make statements all on their own; they also make accessorizing a breeze—you can wear one of her pieces as easily with strappy stilettos as you can with Birkenstocks or fisherman sandals.

Though there's a Mara Hoffman dress for every specific moment, that doesn't mean her pieces are a one-wear-and-done situation. If anything, you'll want to get away with wearing each one over and over again. After all, isn't that the point of "the wardrobe"? Maybe it's the Aries in me and my hot or cold takes on essentially anything (I don't merely "like" things; I am either obsessed or uninterested), but we should be wholeheartedly in love with anything we bring into our lives, whether it be people, projects, or even clothes. Mara Hoffman will always make the cut.

Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.