Arket Spring 2023: A Fashion Editor’s Review

Welcome to The Great Try-On. With spring well and truly in the air, we seized the opportunity to try on some of the best new-in pieces from some of your favourite brands, documenting the process along the way. We believe that the best way to shop online is to see an item IRL and to read candid reviews, so we hope that this leads you to your most successful purchases of the year.

I’m generally a big fan of Arket. Not everything suits me and my petite, 5’2” frame, and I often think some things can have quite a hefty price tag. That being said, I genuinely don’t think you can find better elevated staples anywhere else on the high street. Having shopped there regularly for around five years now for all my basics, from T-shirts to poplin shirts, as well as the odd bigger investment like a blazer or coat, I can attest to the fact that Arket buys really last. The quality for a high-street store is unmatched, and for someone with expensive taste and classic style, it’s always the first place I turn to at the beginning of a new season. 

So when I found out I was going to be heading to Arket for our first-of-its-kind spring Great Try-On feature, I was more than happy to oblige. Up until now, my fellow Who What Wear editors and I have been in agreement that Arket does autumn/winter best. The outerwear, modern tailoring and chunky boots are just excellent. But let me tell you—the new spring 2023 collection just showed up to prove us wrong. 

While we know Arket has a history of doing some key spring staples really well (like that sellout striped knit), the whole of this year’s collection has left me with a rather sizeable shopping list. You’ll still find plenty of these “perfect” bread-and-butter classics in the mix, from Bretons to trench coats. But I loved the modern touches that felt bang up-to-date, too, like the recently overhauled denim offering. I found the dream slouchy jeans I’ve been searching for and a denim shirt that will surely only get better with age. Bouclé textures, skirts (mini and full), a designer-looking curved crossbody bag and a ridiculously comfy knitted maxi dress also made an appearance. 

At the behest of my local store, I tried on as much as I could smuggle into the changing rooms before the security guard started giving me funny looks. After taking into account my first reactions in the cubicle and considering the pieces I was still thinking about post-try-on, I’ve managed to pinpoint 10 of the best items that I would recommend. These are the styles that genuinely excited me and have been living in my mind rent-free ever since I left them in the store. I’d consider all of them capsule staples that I know I’d get so much wear out of for many seasons to come. Keep scrolling to see and shop my Arket spring picks…