There Are 3 Cheap Things And 3 Expensive Things You Need To Master The Quiet Luxury Aesthetic
And the “expensive” ones aren’t even that expensive.
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by The Candidly Team
Admittedly, the words “quiet luxury aesthetic” can sound a little dumb. But at the same time, we all kind of want it. And it’s actually not dumb to want it because it boils down to this one reason:
We just want clothes we love that will look great on us forever.
That means classic over trendy. Chicness over cheapness. Understated over in your face.
Because they’re minimalist in nature, these clothes have to fit incredibly and be of perfect quality regardless of their cost. Because once we have these stunning staples, not only can we dress daily like Jennifer Aniston and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and all quiet luxury queens on a daily basis, but we can also have that elusive capsule wardrobe that acts as a base for all the louder, trendier things we might want to throw into the mix.
These six pieces are pieces we all need. Three of them are surprisingly affordable and three are, well, we call them expensive but compared to designer they’re really not. You all know the $1000 pieces you lust after, and showing you those is completely unhelpful. So here are 6 six perfect “quiet luxury” pieces, and all are under $250. Would that have been a better title? Too late now. Let’s get to the clothes.
1. THE “EXPENSIVE” STUFF
1. The Incredibly Elongating, Tailored Trouser
WHAT: Avery Wide-Leg Pleated Trousers by Maeve*
Why We Love It: There are so many pants to choose from that we often wish someone would just tell us which ones are the most flattering on curves, slimming of the leg, and smoothing on the lower belly. Well, allow us to be that someone.
A perfect trouser is the Katherine Hepburn-esque cornerstone of thousands of quiet lux looks. With a monochrome cashmere sweater and sneaks:
With any button-down, belt, and kitten heel you happen to own:
It all comes together like a symphony when the pants have that custom, tailored-looking fit, that nipped high-waist, that perfect pleating that smooths and elongates. This drapey pair from Anthropologie has been our favorite for years. There’s even elastic in the back so they feel like we’re in loungey house clothes. We own them in every color and stripe combo they come out in, but black is, of course, essential.
Price: $148
2. The Waist-Nipping Blazer
WHAT: Aritzia Standout Blazer - Eversential™*
Why We Love It: Any time you can’t think of what piece of outerwear won’t ruin your outfit, and in fact, will elevate it to another level of chic, you need only grab this blazer.
The nipped waist means we get a gorj, hourglass slhouette on even our most bloated of days.
It’s obviously great over any jeans (as you’ll see later in this very article). But we also wear it out to dinner and to events over dresses and slip skirts:
It’s the only blazer we consistently tell everyone who’ll listen to buy once and wear forever. That said, we did, over time, buy ours in multiple colors.
Price: $248
3. The Audrey Hepburn Flats
WHAT: Rothy’s The Daily Flat*
Why We Love It: Before you say leopard isn’t “quiet,” think about how it blends in with every single black, tan, brown, beige, and denim thing we wear. But it adds just that slightest touch of sophistication. Dare we say, it even looks great with red?
Then again, if you’re more of a solid-colored shoe gal, a ballet flat like this is still that easy, slip-on shoe that makes 90% of our outfits look like they belong in an Audrey Hepburn movie. And these are the comfiest, most breathable ballet flats around. We live in them, which means we also own the pointed version* and the Mary Jane:
P.S. Can we really even call them “expensive” in the context of shoes?
Price: $100
2. The “CHEAP” STUFF
1. The Striped Button Down
WHAT: Quince 100% Organic Cotton Poplin Long Sleeve Shirt*
Why We Love It: Let’s just start by saying Quince is where we get a lot of our quality, “quiet luxury” pieces for A LOT less. They use real materials: cashmere, silk, leather, and organic cotton but “cut out the middle man” in the shipping process to make everything more affordable.
Point is, they make a great striped button-down, and every chic woman knows the power of a striped button-down. Your whole outfit looks 3x more expensive the moment you throw it on, be it with jeans and ballet flats* or wide-leg, cropped pants* and leather slides*. Like this, for example:
Price: $39
2. The Classic, "French Girl" Jeans
WHAT: Quince Bella Stretch Straight Jeans*
Why We Love It: A stretchy and straight pair of jeans molds to your curves like butter and makes everything look smooth and classic and Parisian. These jeans are as good as designer in achieving that effect. We dress them up with the 3 B’s of looking styled: blazer, belts*, and boots* and poof, done:
Price: $50
3. The Oversized White Tee
WHAT: We The Free Nina V-Neck Tee*
Why We Love It: You have no idea how many DMs we get about this cheap shirt our Editor-in-Chief bought a while back that has this kind of alluring neckline and slouched fit, and soft cotton, and dropped sleeve that covers the thick of the arm, like so:
And when people ask, we send them to this almost identical version from Free People* which has all those same details that magically turn a white t-shirt into a luxe centerpiece for so many effortless outfits.
Price: $38
BONUS: The ACCESSORIES
Spend: Black Sunglasses
WHAT: Vicci Sofia*
Why We Love It: Accessories can kind of make or break a “quiet” look. Dark sunglasses with a thicker frame that never go out of style so we keep forever are unbelievably satisfying to slip on. But they have to be carefully crafted out of last-a-lifetime materials, which is why we love these from Vicci.
Price: $280
Save: Minimalist Gold Chain
WHAT: Jenny Bird Zeina Slim Chain*
Why We Love It: Jenny Bird makes such addictive, minimalist pieces that don’t just blend into the background. We wear this chain daily, but pick any one that speaks to you. You can’t go wrong, especially if you like to stack.
Price: $118
Spend: The Everyday Crossbody Bag
WHAT: Clare V. Moyen Messenger*
Why We Love It: Oh hi. Are you tired of us talking about how this bag is our everyday bag soulmate and how we own it in multiple colors and how the fact that it’s crossbody makes it look like PART of our outfit? We’re hard on our bags so they have to be real and resilient and therefore, we’re willing to spend more. You kind of can’t beat up this bag. And it comes in too many colors and weaves we lust after (or own😬).
Price: $475 - $525
Save: The Perfect, Black, Leather Belt
WHAT: Quince Elissa Triple Keeper European Leather Belt*
Why We Love It: Belts are little magic wands that that turn clothes into looks. Is that expression outdated already? We warned you, we’re classic, not trendy.
Price: $58
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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