What Comes After Quiet Luxury?

I've been saying it for months...

Much has been written about the fires in Los Angeles but I would be disingenuous to not acknowledge the space in my mind and heart that EVERYONE affected is holding. I haven’t gone more than 30 minutes in my days with out thinking of the fear and loss of my friends, readers, and the people in LA. I hope that everyone who is able will contribute a few dollars (or more) to many incredible organizations (I, personally, donated to the Salvation Army). A friend who is in California is helping rebuild the wardrobe of a friend whose house was burned down and she found this incredible spreadsheet of brands that are providing products to those affected. This is a call to my fellow shoppers to keep these brands in the forefront of your mind in 2025 and vote with your dollar to support brands like this that step up in times of need.

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I’ve been saying for months that we are waking from our sartorial hibernation of quiet luxury. Hibernation; a state of minimal activity. Does that not feel a bit like the fashion season we have been in?

For the purposes of this newsletter, when I say quiet luxury I am referring to the minimal aesthetic component of this trend NOT specifically about capital L Luxury brands and sales.

At any rate I have been grateful for this season of minimal styling which has focused me on building a great foundational wardrobe. May I suggest that as a starting point for anyone and everyone who is beginning to focus on their personal style. Now I have high quality knits, well fitting denim and classic (neutral) basics and I have been hungry for personality pieces that bring me joy (hence my writing on piece de resistance and hero items).

I know I’m not alone in declaring the end of Quiet Luxury/Minimalism because I was listening to

Allison Bornstein

on the Fashion People podcast (episode here). Allison said there are two issues that are most common among her clients;

1. They collect things but don’t know what to do with them once they have them

2. They edited so much and are looking to put personality back in

I really love Allison and I feel like she has her pulse on things so take her word for it. Or take

Kevin Robles

;

source

Or Lauren Sherman;

source

So since I’m not alone in my collective shift away from minimal (hence the entire Midimalist concept); where do we go from here? I think we want to avoid swinging full tilt from one trend to another. We want to purchase thoughtfully to avoid regret. We want to focus on styling and not buying.

As I worked through my thoughts on this I was sent a fascinating Wall Street Journal article called From Sad Basics to Statement Pieces: The Women’s Capsule Wardrobe, Reborn. Also

Jennifer Alfano

, who is quoted in the article, screen grabbed the content for us non WSJ subscribers;

My Thoughts on Fewer, Better in WSJ

The gist of the article is that one can create a capsule wardrobe that embraces personality. For example, subbing a Breton t-shirt for a striped t-shirt with a little zhuzh.

But my favorite part of the article was brought to me by my friend

Lindsay Sword

; *my emphasis*

Arendse, the advertising executive, limits herself to 15 pieces per season, and two core silhouette combinations—a wide-legged pant with a fitted jacket, or an oversize jacket with a more fitted pant—as guardrails for mixing audacious colors, patterns and textures in unexpected ways. A recent favorite pairing? A J.Crew houndstooth blazer with Free People pink barrel-cut jeans.

How brilliant. Silhouette combinations (which sounds like a freer form idea of a uniform) to work within! Arendse’s silhouette; wide leg pant with jacket COULD serve a minimal/ quiet luxury aesthetic. But if we are looking to venture out into pattern or color; one could do so while remaining in the safe-space of their preferred silhouettes!

L: Blazer ($390) // T-Shirt ($68) // Belt ($50) // Wide Leg Denim ($135) // Boots ($395) R: Blazer ($248) *I couldn’t find a herringbone on JCrew but this fits the bill // Pink Barrel Pants ($98)

So we are going to use this uniform framework with the three tips I’m suggesting because we should be using the items that we already have to BUILD on, not toss out. Let’s get into it.

One

Maintain quintessential silhouettes but venture into color (esp ring 3) colors that build easily into a neutral wardrobe and will be wearable for years.

There is a creator on TikTok named Jordan Golds that incorporates color and pattern into her wardrobe in really approachable ways. I’ve included some screen grabs of the color that is inspiring me.

I adore the orange color of her coat! And the mix of orange and baby blue is really lovely

if you make her shirt/sweater grey or black this is a classically quiet luxury silhouette but the color makes it so much more interesting!

I’m very into the mix of yellow and red!

this image was a gateway for me; mixing tonal colors together!

normally the color and pattern on this top would scare me BUT the way she used classic silhouettes to set it off is very good!

OK so let’s take this tip into the uniform concept. Let’s translate it if you like wearing pull on pants, loafers and knitwear. And, important caveat here, I really love both of these outfits! I’m simply working to add more color to my personal wardrobe as a step towards further self-expression through style.

L: sweater ($228) // tee ($68) // bag ($158) // pants ($120) // loafers ($375) R: sweater ($580) // bag ($450)// pants ($275) // loafers ($230)

Shout out to Sophie in the Midimalist chat who shared an outfit that combined sky blue and burgundy for the inspiration here!

Two

Look for silhouettes or fabrications that provide a twist on a classic. If you’ve followed me for a while you have heard me sound this call before. But I really think that, a key to having a wardrobe that has both longevity and inspiration is having basics that have personality (whether through color, texture, silhouette, etc.).

And the aforementioned WSJ piece highlighted this exact thing;

I began following

Samantha Elise

of

Beyond The Closet.

and her outfit here captures the essence of this tip. Her trouser shorts are oversized and yet fit her like a glove! They are a silhouette that is interesting and takes her outfit to another level. Combined with a striped button down (vs. a standard white) means she is wearing great foundational pieces that are amped up.

Tibi is particularly good at this.

Amy smilovic

creates pieces that truly can stand the test of time AND YET are really special with flare that make them uniquely TIBI.

The beloved Calder sweat pants // A slightly wonky button on a polo

For further proof, I saw this image of one of the Moosgaard twins wearing a blazer with a small tweak in the buttons. Even that can make an impact. And these are the queens of minimalism here!!

A uniform of jeans and t-shirt can be spiced up through opting for fresh silhouettes. I know, I know I’m talking about barrel denim… again. But I also found an incredible t-shirt with an hourglass shape for those of us who love our straight-leg denim to emphasize the point.

L: Bag ($160) // Tee ($68) // Denim Shirt in both images ($199) // Tuxedo denim ($358) // Flats in both images ($215) R: Tee ($165) // Tote ($90) // Denim ($138)

THREE

Let your heart lead the way!

I watched the Mina Lee video on The Death of Personal Style and found the whole thing to be quite sad. As someone who loves fashion and thinking about style, I hate to think that personal style is dead because, according to Mina and others, the algorithm has tricked us all into dressing like each other.

I think the crucial key for wherever style moves to next is allowing yourself to love something without needing your friends or the internet to validate it. If you like oversized, flowy silhouettes then wear it, but don’t wait for the internet to tell you that desert aunt is in.

I spent part of last year learning about brands that make pieces that excite me and I keep a running list of them in my phone so I can keep my eye out for them on resale or during sales. I love the masculine/feminine tension in Bode and the hard leaning feminine of Sea New York and Doen. And I like the classics of Cordera, Donni and Leset.

I love exploring sites like No. 6,

Vestige

and Garmentory to find small(er) designers and Moda Operandi or Shopbop for more mainstream or high-end options. All of these sites aggregate from other designers so you can scroll and get curious about the things YOU are attracted to. Often things are outside my budget but I can use what I find to fuel a vintage or second-hand search for more affordable options.

Whatever it takes to break out of the “latest” page on Zara and get comfy knowing what is a YES and what is a PASS for you. There are several writers on here that I really admire for the way they lead with a visceral love of clothes including

Laura De Valencia Kirk

and

Megan Acierno

so check them out!

A handful of my recent YESes (all linked here)

I hope that one of these tips resonated as a way to move out of our Quiet Luxury and into a new season of… dare I say it… midimalism! And as I know so many of you are not shopping right now, I try to keep my tips relevant for styling too so please know I am all about gaining control over the consumption monster that we can all feel.

All links for this post can be found here