A denim dress is one of my wardrobe staples. I bought a light blue denim shirtdress from Mango last year and I’ve worn it endlessly: in summer with flip-flops, in winter with a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath plus tights and boots and, sometimes, as a jacket over a vest top and skinny jeans.

Apart from a brief flirtation with designer denim in the nineties I’m strictly high street when it comes to the blue stuff but I have to admit my head was turned by the indigo blue shirt dress from Alexa Chung’s recently launched collection for AG Jeans. I didn’t buy it, it was the best part of £300, which is more than I’ve ever spent on any one item of clothing and way more than I would ever spend on a denim dress.

Luckily the high street is all over the denim dress right now so there’s absolutely no need to drop silly money on one. There are two different ways you can go. In the blue corner, the denim shirt dress and in the, erm, other blue corner, the denim pinafore dress. For those of you who are in the market for a new denim dress, I’ve picked five of each in every shade from washed out to super-dark indigo.

Pinafore Dresses

I’m a big fan of Zara generally and Zara denim specifically (regular readers have probably noticed…)and they’ve totally nailed the pinafore dress with this light blue midi length one which has serious seventies vibes. Yours for £39.99, you can buy it here. If the midi length doesn’t do it for you, and it can be kind of tricky to wear, this pale blue short pinafore dress from Bershka might be more your thing. It looks cute layered over a flannel shirt, is £29.99 and you can buy it here. Topshop is another of my go-to shops for denim and this vintage wash short pinafore would be perfect for sunny summer holidays. It’s £32 and you can buy it here. For a petite option, head to ASOS and snap up this one by Glamorous, just £26, you can buy it here. For something a little different Miss Selfridge has an indigo pinafore dress for £39 that, unlike the others in my round-up is high at the back, so you wouldn’t need to wear a top underneath it. You can buy it here.

Shirt Dresses

At £19.99 this super-light wash shirt dress from H&M – part of the Conscious Collection – is the cheapest of all ten options and is the most similar to the shirt dress I already own. You can buy it here. This dress from Mango’s Violetta range (which comes in sizes from 14-22) is pretty much the perfect shade of blue. It’s £59.99 and you can buy it here. For taller readers I’m loving (although not tall enough to wear, sadly) New Look’s version which is collarless and comes with a denim belt. It’s £24.99 and you can buy it here. If you like the clean, cool Scandi look (which I do, very much) this dress by Light Before Dark at Urban Outfitters is the one for you. It’s £48 and you can buy it here. I’m not just crushing on this shirt dress from Hush, I’m crushing on the entire outfit. I like how it’s been styled with the white vest underneath, so the top buttons can be worn open and the sparkly clutch and heeled boots prove it’s totally possibly to take a shirtdress out on a date. It’s £65 and you can buy it here.

Anyone else a fan of the denim dress? Are you team shirt dress or team pinafore? I can’t decide, I think I’m both. Spotted any great denim dresses I missed? On my search I spotted some cute strapless denim dresses but I didn’t include as the post would have gotten out of hand. Perhaps I’ll include them in a strapless dress round up when Spring has sprung (not long to go now!).