Reminisce with us momentarily; remember the first time you fell in love with a designer piece. What was that moment like? Do you remember your heart skipping a beat when you saw it? Or maybe you let out an audible gasp, perhaps? There’s something deeply special about unearthing something beautiful. But the stark reality check that comes shortly after checking the price tag? Not pretty. If you’re a fashion person, you’ve likely viscerally remembered when your heart sank into your stomach, realizing that the designer piece you covet is way out of your reach. For the most part, we all develop systems to avoid ever feeling that emotion again—albeit through only shopping the sale section, sourcing second-hand designer items, or swearing off high-fashion altogether.
But those avoidance methods aren’t always effective, especially when the entire internet is lit up over one topic…ahem, “quiet luxury.” Anyone who’s chronically online can tell you that avoiding this fashion aesthetic has become near-impossible as the obsession over dressing like you’ve got “old money” has reached an all-time high. One could blame the popularity of television shows like Succession or the never-ending anxiety surrounding the current state of our economy. But if we’re being honest, what’s played the biggest role in popularizing this fashion aesthetic is the fashion brands themselves. Without buzzy brands like The Row, Khaite, and Toteme defining the look, there would be nothing to buzz about!
While no one can argue that these designer labels had their hand in ushering in the quiet luxury era, the truth is that the label itself is only a fraction of what this movement is about. Because luxury is not just being covered in labels head-to-toe, true luxury is about taste—it’s the ability to distinguish between what trends are fleeting versus what will be perennial. You don’t ever have to go back to that moment where luxury is out of reach because it’s attainable. Don’t believe us? In the vein of proving our point, we did the research to identify the 15 best affordable quiet luxury brands. Keeping in mind how the fashion industry defines luxury apparel, we were able to curate a list of brands that center craftsmanship, foundational staples, and, most importantly, a sliding scale of price ranges in which true luxury brands are represented by five-dollar signs, contemporary brands have two-to-three, and so on. So, without further ado, let’s get into it…