Quiet luxury is one of the biggest fashion trends in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why. Popular TV shows like Succession and White Lotus draw attention to the lives and habits of the ultra wealthy. One of those habits is not to call attention to just how much money they have. The rise of wealth inequality and the lack of privacy afforded by social media also contribute to a desire for stealth wealth rather than ostentatious wealth.
What if you don’t come from a very wealthy family and don’t already know the rules? This guide to the best quiet luxury brands is for you – which brands to try, and what they’re best at, so you can spend where it matters and save when it doesn’t.
What is quiet luxury?
Quiet luxury is the exceptional quality and craftsmanship that you would expect from a luxury product but without the overt branding that signals where your items are from. It arose in recent years as a response to the in-your-face branding that dominated the 2010s. TV shows like “Succession” cemented quiet luxury and “stealth wealth” as a fashion trend by featuring brands like Loro Piana and their plain baseball caps costing upwards of $1000.
I can say that quiet luxury pieces make me feel more confident in public and less like a target for theft. I want the way these brands look and feel, but I don’t want to broadcast how much money my bag costs. I also love that quiet luxury makes me really think about what I am buying. The prices are high enough that it forces me to examine a tendency toward conspicuous consumption and my role in perpetuating the fast fashion industry.
It is definitely a mindset shift to buy less but better, as I love a good deal! If you buy the right items, though, it’s a change well worth making.
The hallmarks of quiet luxury
The best quiet luxury brands are known for several qualities. They have a strong focus on basic pieces done well, built on the idea that the best designs never go out of style. The quiet luxury brands that I follow and love all share these characteristics:
1. Timeless design – quiet luxury brands design pieces that are meant to be worn for years, even decades. The high-quality materials mean the pieces last longer, and the design elements mean that these pieces won’t go out of style in a year or two. Think clean lines and simple, clean silhouettes over trendy cuts.
2. Absence of logos – the quiet luxury look prioritizes logo-free clothing, letting the materials and design lead the way. The whole point of quiet luxury is that you could mistake the items for something much less expensive. This is why they call it stealth wealth; if you don’t know what you’re looking at, you would never know how expensive it is.
3. Neutral palette – Quiet luxury brands tend to offer products in classic neutral colors – white, beige, brown, black, navy, and grey. Bright colours tend to come in and out of fashion more often, while neutral color palettes are always in style and make even trendier cuts seem like more timeless pieces.
4. Natural materials – quiet luxury brands lean heavily on natural fabrics and materials – think merino wool, cashmere, silk, and real leather goods. This use of animal products can be problematic for some shoppers, but sticking to naturally-occurring materials as opposed to synthetics typically makes the products last longer. It’s debatable which types of materials have a bigger impact on the planet, but one argument against fast fashion is that investment pieces, while more expensive, reduce consumption overall and tax the environment less.
How is quiet luxury different from old money aesthetic?
Old money aesthetic is more about the style of the clothes you choose and your fashion sense as opposed to the brands themselves and how much branding there is on them. They do definitely overlap, though. Old money aesthetic is associated with preppy designs, neutral colors, and subtle details, while quiet luxury focuses more on quality without telegraphing that your clothes are expensive.
The best quiet luxury brands
I’ll be the first to say that I haven’t tried every luxury brand out there, but I do have my favorites. These are brands that I either own and love or aspire to own.
Hermès
Best for: Handbags
When it comes to quiet luxury, you have to start with Hermes. The fashion world knows them as the brand that refuses to compromise on quality, still hand-stitching their bags long after competitors have moved to machine stitching. They have an infamous waitlist for “quota” bags like the Kelly and Birkin, and a notoriously opaque purchasing process. While all of their goods are high quality, their bags are second to none.
I own 5 Hermes bags and each is extremely high quality. I do not baby my bags, and these can take the hit without looking anything from fresh and new. If I have a complaint, it is that they are generally heavy due to the thickness of the leather, and that they can be fussy to get in and out of. I really don’t care though; if I had to pick one quiet luxury item only, it would be an Hermes bag. See my Kelly 28 review for more thoughts on the bag.
Brunello Cucinelli
Best for: Knitwear
When you’re looking for luxurious clothing, you can’t go wrong with Brunello Cucinelli. The brand is known for its cashmere sweaters and skirts. Though the Italian label was founded on the idea of bringing brightly colored cashmere sweaters to market, the company now sits firmly in the neutral color scheme.
The best of Brunello Cucinelli
Veronica Beard
Best for: Workwear
Veronica Beard is quiet luxury at a more accessible price point than most luxury brands. The brand’s trademark is their blazer and they have a strong selection of suiting, collared shirts, and tailored dresses. I have many items from Veronica Beard and they have all held up well after repeated use.
I even machine washed the shirt pictured, which I later learned was dry clean only and it came through unscathed. Labels are nowhere to be seen, but the cut and quality design of the clothing signals that it is luxury.
Top picks from Veronica Beard
The Row
Best for: Minimalist staples
One of the hardest to get bags to get these days is the Margaux bag by The Row, but the brand is known for so much more. Founded by twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, The Row is the best known quiet luxury brand. Their minimalist approach to fashion means you will never see a logo and rarely even an embellishment.
The brand stands solely on quality, and its design is not that appealing to me personally. They prioritize a modern design that is often oversized and a bit edgy in proportion or cut, but overall I the options a bit boring. It’s not for me, but I do appreciate the classic cut of their pants.
Quiet Luxury Picks from The Row
Strathberry
Best for: Quality bags without the price
Strathberry is an accessories brand designed in Scotland and manufactured in Spain, at the same factories as designer brands like Loewe. The quality is top notch, but the price tags are a lot more affordable than high-end labels.
Though their bags do have their name stamped on the leather, the brand is not well known yet despite being a favorite of celebrities and even royals. Both Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, have been spotted wearing Strathberry.
I have 2 Strathberry bags, the east-west mini in Vanilla and the mosaic nano in Bottle Green and both are excellent bags. I highly recommend them and look forward to collecting more.
The Best Strathberry Bags
Max Mara
Best for: Coats
If you want a wool coat, look no further than Max Mara. Their full length coats are a thing of beauty, combining practical functionality with understated elegance. They make beautiful neutrals as well as some statement colors that really caught my eye.
Drool-worthy Max Mara Pieces
Khaite
Best for: High quality staples
I stumbled on the most perfect pair of cream trousers at a luxury consignment store, and Khaite’s rise as a quiet luxury brand started to make perfect sense. The quality, cut, and timeless design mean that they will be a wardrobe staple for me for a long time.
The New York-based brand by creative director and founder Catherine Holstein emphasizes the opposition of structure and fluidity, masculine and feminine. The result is one of the best quiet luxury fashion brands that you truly have to know in order to recognize.
Khaite pieces I can’t stop thinking about
Loro Piana
Best for: Knitwear
Loro Piana started life as a wool trading company, so it’s no surprise that it is now one of the most exclusive brands for knitwear. Its fame rose with the popularity of the show “Succession,” and its vicuña and cashmere is second to none.
Loro Piana Looks
TOTEME
Best for: Exceptional draping
TOTEME is one of the lesser known fashion houses, but it’s got a cult following for its minimalist, Scandinavian “uniform” approach to clothes. It was founded in 2014 in Sweden and offers a range of clothing in just a few neutral colors. The brand emphasizes fluid fabrics, exceptional draping, and is famous for its embroidered scarf jacket. Why had we not thought of integrating a scarf with a coat before?
My top Toteme Picks
Jacques Marie Mage
Best for: Sunglasses
Unless you’re deep down the rabbit hole of quiet luxury brands, you’ve likely never heard of Jacques Marie Mage before. They are often called the “Hermès of sunglasses” due to their exclusivity and exceptional quality. The brand emphasizes classic designs handcrafted in Japan and Italy.
With prices above $800, these are no ordinary sunglasses. They have thick frames and come packaged in a comically large burgundy box, complete with carrying case and accompanying certificate. The big complaint about JMM sunglasses is that the thickness makes them very heavy and difficult to wear for long periods.
Jacques Marie Mage Sunglasses
How to Incorporate Quiet Luxury into Your Wardrobe
I don’t subscribe to a strict capsule wardrobe, but I do find that I reach for a small number of favorite pieces over and over. Start by noticing what the workhorses in your wardrobe are, and as they need replaced, make these your investment pieces.
I don’t believe in spending hundreds of dollars on the perfect t-shirt; for me, those are more throw-away pieces that I’m going to need to replace often. Instead, I focus on outerwear, bags, a few nice pairs of dress pants, and a few nice tops.
By the way – quiet luxury brands often aren’t the best for travel. The fabrics require more care, and the styles can take up too much room. Here are my recommendations for the best travel clothes for women, and the best travel clothes for men.
The Wrap Up
Ready to adopt the muted colour palette of quiet luxury? Pay attention to the finer details of cut, material, craftsmanship, and practicality. Invest in forever pieces you will use and wear for years, from brands known for delivering time and again.
