The thing about luxury trends

The changing luxury trends

In the past few weeks, almost not a day went by without some content about the trends “Silent” or “Quiet” Luxury vs. “Loud” Luxury appearing in my social media feeds. Apparently this is a much-discussed topic at the moment and I can understand why. But what is it all about?

Loud Luxury

In recent years, different trends have emerged in connection with luxury items. At first it was noisy. Not in the literal sense, but in the visual sense. So-called “Loud Luxury” describes objects such as clothing and accessories but also e.g. cars, mansions, etc. Which are unmistakably supposed to suggest wealth. This is done through logos on the garments or e.g. handbags and e.g. through bright colors. Just by the real display of high-priced things. This trend came up with the increasing popularity of Instagram and co. Influencers have been pushing each other to post more and more decadent recordings. Some could probably really afford the lifestyle portrayed, but many others certainly couldn’t. They have tried or are still trying to imitate the first or at least appear just as rich.

The problem with this

I think everyone should live the way he or she wants, as long as no one is harmed. If you want to spend your hard-earned money on decadent luxury items, you are welcome to do so. I’m not a moralizer when it comes to that, although I personally wouldn’t. But after all, we all want freedom, and this freedom also means that we must be free to decide how we spend our money. Even if it concerns questionable trends.
However, I agree that it is problematic when people pretend to be able to afford such a decadent lifestyle, when in fact they cannot. And this, however, disguise and publicly present their alleged life of wealth on the Internet. This “normalizes” said lifestyle and suggests to others that this should be possible without any problems, which logically triggers not only positive feelings in others.
It has long been clear that people are influenced by social media and influencers, whether they are aware of it or not. What we consume every day has an impact on us. We begin to compare ourselves with what we see. Sometimes we can identify with the content we consume and its creators, other times we can’t.
Regarding the Loud Luxury controversy, the following happened. At some point, supposedly rich influencers were caught in their charades. For example, they had themselves photographed in private jets or with dozens of shopping bags from designer brands, or they posed as a matter of course in luxury vehicles or hotels. What seemed glamorous and enviable at first glance was in fact all staged. The private jet was a simple photo set that could be rented by the hour. The shopping bags had been bought empty for little money, via various apps or websites. The luxury vehicles were rented, together with 50 other influencers, to share the cost of a day of Lamborghini driving. And so on. It is understandable that the followers, who at some point realized that they had been led to the light, were not happy about it.
So the real problem is that people are obviously quite inauthentic in their self-expression. This is nothing new, but nevertheless we always seem surprised by the sheer ingenuity of some when their dishonest methods become known. Unfortunately, we all tend to equate the matter itself with the outright fraudulent mongering of the people concerned. After all, the luxury items and respective brands, no matter what you want to think of them, can’t really help the fact that people have used them to dazzle others in order to get attention for them. In any case, the temporary popularity of certain products has probably suffered significantly as a result.

The counter-movement

As with everything that has fallen out of favor with some or has been viewed critically from the beginning, a counter-movement is developing. This counter-movement to Loud Luxury is the “Quiet Luxury” aka “Old Money” aesthetic. The loud, decadent, “in your face” luxury lifestyle was often associated with the so-called “nouveau riche”. This comes from a poor money minimum, say some. Only “poor people” display such a kind of alleged wealth, say the others. True wealth is quiet and barely noticeable, say the thirds. It’s as if you can only join a secret club of the super-rich if you know how to dress in such a way that only its members notice each other. And then apparently you are someone if you know how to spend thousands of euros or dollars without you immediately seeing that you are wearing the value of a mid-range car on your body.
Of course, this does not suit many people either. On the subject of Old Money, I am also currently seeing more and more content from people with African roots who point out that they find it unethical that people try to imitate the lifestyle of extremely rich families of European descent, because in their eyes they have enriched themselves exclusively through slave labor and the exploitation of minorities. By the way, the really really rich don’t say anything about any of this, at least not publicly on the Internet.

Is there such a thing as acceptable luxury?

So you basically can’t do anything “right”. The topic of luxury has always divided opinions, you could say. Wealth has probably never been accepted by all equally, and the history of mankind has ever been. Only in the past there were only two camps. The rich and the poor. And what the latter thought was probably largely irrelevant to the former. Nowadays, however, there are many more “camps”, the “old” rich, the new rich, the “fake-new” rich, the “fake-old” rich, the “rich” poor, the “poor” rich, the moderate “middle-class wealthy”, the liberal frugalists, the really poor poor and probably many more.
And everyone has their opinion on the subject of luxury and wealth. I think the more important realization is that we finally stop trying to dazzle others, be it with luxury items, or the supposedly perfect figure. I think most people now agree that this is problematic. I think we should try to be honest with each other and show more realistic excerpts of our lives on the Internet. Which are comprehensible and also accessible to others. However, I also see that part of entertainment is a certain kind of exaggeration. And people consume social media content mainly for entertainment. Perhaps these things should not be taken too seriously.

Just another Gender Gap

I find it interesting that this criticism seems to be aimed primarily at women again. In any case, I am only shown content by and about women. Understandable, since women, in a clichéd way, probably like to go shopping. And love shoes and handbags. The whole thing is actually understandable, because there is still a collector’s nature in us. Looking for and finding something special just makes us feel good. And to be able to see and carry our “treasures” in our wardrobe actually makes us really happy sometimes. And that’s perfectly ok, I think. In moderation, anyway. But more on that in a moment. Nevertheless, many find it problematic, apparently, when women spend large sums of money on handbags and shoes and the like.
But I don’t see anyone screaming about the fact that, for example, many men spend large sums of money on their hobbies. I know men who own fishing equipment worth 7000 € or e-bikes, quats, motorcycles etc for 5 digit sums. Also, quite a few of them spend a lot of money on e.g. annual tickets for football stadiums. I also know several men who have a record collection + hi-fi equipment that cost as much as a small condominium. Or who tune their vehicles with expensive accessories. Or buy extremely expensive gaming equipment. The list can certainly be extended. The point is, women are absolutely allowed to have a leisure activity that costs money. And if this is her passion for high-priced handbags , then that’s just her decision and no one should be upset about it. Especially when all the costly other hobbies are not publicly criticized.
I have now consciously taken up these clichés and attributed certain hobbies to men, which are certainly also practiced by many women, just as some men certainly like to go shopping and like handbags and shoes. But I think you all understand what I was getting at. I think society still tends to criticize women more, in everything, but especially apparently when it comes to spending money. Why is that? What do you mean? Feel free to leave me a comment.

My personal style

I consciously stay with myself now, as I absolutely accept other opinions on this. Personally, I think there is simply no “right” or “wrong” when it comes to one’s personal dress and lifestyle, at least within a framework of certain generally accepted social norms. I never liked “noisy” luxury items. I never had any either. In any case, I can’t think of what I could put in this category, at least in my opinion. I’ve also never worn bright colors or owned a luxury vehicle, at least I wouldn’t describe the company cars I may have driven in the past as such. But I can’t say if this would have been any different if I had grown up in wealth and could have always afforded everything I wanted.
I don’t think most people can realistically imagine this change of perspective. Therefore, most lottery winners usually lose their sudden wealth within a few years. The temptation to buy things that were previously unattainable is simply too great and what was previously “normal” is quickly replaced by a new, more smoking normality. If previously 100 euros was a lot, with the new perspective as a millionaire, they are only as much as before felt maybe a few cents.
Personally, I actually feel more addressed by quiet Luxury. In the course of this article, I asked myself why this is so. I do not come from a rich, European family that has accumulated its wealth through slave labor or other questionable business in some distant past. I know that for sure. My ancestors were artisans and lived in small villages. My grandmother was a seamstress, as were her father and grandfather, etc. From her I learned how to design and tailor clothes. And what high-quality clothing is. This shaped me long before I even knew what designer, brands and luxury items were. Unfortunately, my grandmother is no longer alive, otherwise I would have loved to interview her. I would have been very interested in your opinion on this.
I can still remember that when we were clearing out her wardrobe, I found that most of her clothes and textiles looked like new, even though some of them were decades old. In any case, that left a lasting impression on me. Especially since it was at a time when I mainly wore H&M, Mango and Zara clothes, which unfortunately didn’t look nice at all in most cases after a very short time, as I found back then. So my focus is primarily on quality and its timeless design when I buy clothes. However, admittedly, I still have to make compromises at the moment. Because I have long-term financial goals that are a priority for me, so I’ve basically been saving on all my expenses, including my clothes, for a long time.

Clothing reflects our character

My second realization was that I like “smart” fashion and for the following reasons. I would describe myself as an intellectual person. I’ve always been an absolute bookworm.
One of my hobbies is to pursue a never-ending number of complementary interests and to constantly accumulate new knowledge. Of course, I may also find people who are similar to me attractive. That’s how we all are. And people I associate with similar characteristics often dress more “smart”. In other words, in a shirt or blouse, jacket or blazer, trousers with creases, etc. People who also walk around outside with sweatpants etc. can of course also have characteristics that I personally would find sympathetic, but the first glance at them says something different for me personally. We all judge a book by its cover, and most of the time unconsciously. For example, I don’t even own sweatpants, but I do have casual, loose pants made of linen. I don’t have blue jeans either, but white jeans and countless corduroy pants in different cuts.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable in these mainstream garments. Therefore, I have the feeling to express and underline my personal preferences and character traits with my clothing style. And I think that’s exactly the essence of what clothes should be for us, if we can afford this “luxury”.

Convenience

The third reason for choosing most of my garments is convenience. I work 100% from home. My clothes therefore do not have to impress anyone or express any status. Because I constantly switch back and forth between various roles in my everyday life. One hour I’m a designer working on a pattern or creating a new fabric pattern. Then I am a complete entrepreneur and have to sit at my desk for hours and devote myself to various due diligence tasks. Other times I am the author of my blog or continue to work on a book, and research or write for a longer period of time. Apart from that, I am also a housewife and take care of my household, do the laundry, go shopping, clean, etc. And then I’m also a mother and go cycling with the kids or to a playground, for example.
I wouldn’t want to change clothes all the time because my clothes aren’t flexible enough to be able to do all these tasks in them. Of course, this doesn’t mean that one and the same outfit would be suitable for all these tasks, but I only buy things that are suitable for as many everyday situations as possible, without sacrificing factors 1 (quality), 2 (underlining personality) and 3 (comfortable to wear). The sum of these is basically my clothing style. In summary, I would describe it as: Sustainable, durable, mostly high-quality, comfortable, minimalist, smart, elegant, versatile, timeless, calm, neutral. Since these characteristics probably also apply to the quiet luxury style, I actually find it more appealing. But my motives for this are not that I want to imitate the status ascribed to it. The similarity is pure coincidence, I think.

Conclusion

I don’t really care what style of clothing other people prefer. In everything I write about fashion , including my styling tips, I always stay with myself and my opinion. You will never hear me talk about supposedly new “rules”. Or that now is that “IN” and that “OUT”. I see something like this all the time with fashion influencers, fashion bloggers or vloggers etc. And most of the time I have to smile about their new “styling rules”. There are about 8 billion people living on our planet. How boring and how uninspiring would it be if we all looked completely the same? I wouldn’t want that. In my opinion, fashion should underline one’s own personality and preferences and not disguise them through trends and alleged fashion rules.
Be yourself, wear the clothes in which you feel really comfortable and self-confident and don’t let any styling rules dictate to you. My content should inspire you and help you if you need styling tips and don’t know exactly what it is that might bother you about your wardrobe. I hope that my articles will make this clear. How do you see the topic of Loud Luxury, or quiet Luxury? What do I think of fashion influencers in general and their ever-changing styling rules? Do you even notice something like this or do you wonder what I’m talking about? Feel free to let me know in the comments.

I wish you a luxurious weekend.

All the love

Christina

“The purest form of luxury is reduction. A piece of clothing is perfect when you can’t leave anything out.”

Jil Sander

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About the author

Christina Ernst is founder and CEO of Linen & Quince. She is also a designer, author and real estate expert. She shares her experiences and knowledge not only on our Linen & Quince blog, but also on her personal blog, christinaernst.net , where she writes about financial knowledge, starting a business, real estate knowledge and personal development. She loves interior design, art, antiques, as well as elegant, sustainable and high-quality fashion.

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