16 “Quiet Luxury” Pieces Your Wardrobe Needs Immediately, All Under $150
And exactly how to wear them.
by The Candidly Team
On occasion, we do like a trend. But, and this is a MAJOR but, we only like it when it lines up precisely with our existing goal of dressing timeless and chic with very little effort.
Enter the era of Quiet Luxury.
We sort of love it, guys. But why? And what does it even mean?
Well, first set aside the idea that you need to spend celebrity levels of cash to attain it. Cause our whole goal is to disprove that in about 8 seconds. But quiet luxury, as we see it, is more about being classic and untrendy. Not flashy or in your face with labels, but dressing in beautiful clothes of impeccable quality that fit us supremely well, and DON’T go out of style.
Building a closet out of quiet luxury things means we get to look effortlessly polished in our everyday clothes. We can mix and match them a million ways with the same effect. And all this is achieved by picking out pieces that follow 6 simple rules:
Perfect tailoring
Luxe fabrics
Very few patterns
Unfussy designs
Smart layering
The look and feel of complete comfort you only truly have when clothes fit you exactly right
We chose 16 essential things. None of them are flimsy fast fashion. Each of them will last. And all of them are under $150.
And to show you exactly how to put them together, we paired them up into looks you can wear right out the door. But in fairness, you can wear pretty much any of them together. Call it a capsule wardrobe.
And into the capsule, we go.
1. The Most Flattering Button-Down Shirt. Period.
The Bennet Buttondown Shirt by Maeve
A perfect button-down is the cornerstone to understated wealth. And this one is MIRACULOUS, because it’s cut in such a way that it’s meant to be tied in the front, loose in the back, so it never looks stuffy. It’s the go-to shirt for modesty around your bum or midsection, while always being insanely flattering. We have done a lot of hunting for the best fitting, most versatile button-down. And we can safely report, this is the one.
Price: $98
2. The Perfectly Tailored Trouser
Whether you’re short or tall, have ample thighs, or absolutely no butt, these pants will magically nip your waist, skim over hips, and fall into the most flattering drape. We talk a big game about these pants, because we find few things as well-tailored or lengthening. Everything about them screams quiet luxury, and though they’re not dirt cheap, pants of this quality frequently cost twice as much. Oh, and they come in 4 lengths!
Price: $148
3. The Belt That Makes All Clothes Look More Expensive
We’re big believers in investing in one gorgeous belt. It’s one of the most underrated accessories that we don’t even think about, but when we get a luxe one like this and throw it on with any boring old outfit we suddenly look 37x more put together. This belt with the above trouser and tucked button-down combo creates the most foolproof, flattering look. And the best part is we feel completely comfortable and ourselves in it. Especially when we add the below sneaks.
Full disclosure: when we first wrote about this belt it was under $150 but the price snuck up a bit, but we decided to keep it simply because it is the best belt we’ve ever owned.
Price: $178
4. The Chic Little White Tennis Shoe
Luxury is not about sparkle and 4-inch stilettos. It’s actually usually the opposite - like replacing your blistery heels and stiff loafers with the chicest known tennis shoe. Wear these casually with your smartest ensembles like the one we just created to make your whole look seem effortless. AND no foot pain. Bonus.
Price: $150
5. The Silky Maxi Skirt That’s Made For Pears And Hourglass Shapes
By Anthropologie The Tilda Maxi Slip Skirt
Sometimes the luxury part of quiet luxury is in the fabrics themselves. This particular skirt is also cut on the bias which is the single most flattering fit on curves. The fact that it’s a maxi means we can wear it to work or to a wedding, and it will look equally appropriate. Lastly, it has a glorious size and color range with so many neutrals to pair with your lushest sweaters. Which bring us to…
Price: $98
6. The Cashmere Cardi That Actually Screams Luxury
Quince Mongolian Cashmere Oversized Boyfriend Cardigan Sweater
If you had to do a double take, because this looks just like that sweater you’ve seen 857 times on the internet that you know costs $450 and pretty much is the emblem of quiet luxury, same. But this is from Quince, a brand you’ll hear us talk a lot about because they are doing lusty cashmere and leather pieces for astonishing prices. This sweater is divinely soft and slightly oversized, so you can wear it open over a slender turtleneck or button it up and tuck it into the above skirt for a surprisingly chic look. Try it. It’s sort of a magic trick, guys.
Price: $140
7. The Tissue-Thin T-Shirt
This airy, tissue-thin tee completes your wardrobe in ways you wouldn’t expect. It’s extremely soft and fits in the precise way we always want a tee to fit. And fit is the biggest key to dressing quiet luxury.
Price: $39
8. The Only Gorgeous Bra That Looks Good Under Clothes
We’re not 19 anymore. We need underthings for adults. And yes, we’d love them to be beautiful and sexy…in theory. But we also need them to be supportive and smooth and not at all lumpy under our ANY of our clothes! We know that, like us, you’ve likely heard of Negative a million times, and, like us, have lusted after their designs. And maybe you’ve shooed yourself away to buy yet another flimsy thing from Target that falls apart after 8 wears. But, and just hear us out, maybe it’s time to give ourselves permission to spend what we’d typically spend on 2 Target bras without a thought on one gorgeous, lasting bra from Negative that looks as good as it feels and fits. If you take nothing else from this article, take this. You’ve served enough time in nasty, peeling underwires. You deserve a good bra.
Price: $70
9. The Skimming Suede Jacket
Quince 100% Suede Biker Jacket
A genuine suede jacket is exactly the kind of thing we never quite allow ourselves to justify, because the price is so exorbitantly high. But not this jacket, again from Quince. The lines are clean, which makes it wildly easy to turn our casual denim outfits into cool, crisp, effortless looks. The suede is incredibly soft, and the smart tailoring on the back nips you in. So you get the complete package for a third of the price.
Price: $150
10. The Most Perfect-Fitting Jeans That Almost Look Custom Made
Madewell The Perfect Vintage Wide-Leg Crop Jean
These jeans are cut like they’re bespoke and nothing, NOTHING whispers luxury more than clothes that fit you perfectly. Honestly, we’re loving the fit of most Madewell jeans right now. Dress them up with the leather accents (above and below), and one wildly indulgent accessory that we never owned before but now can’t imagine our lives without. No suspense - it’s next on the list.
Price: $128
11. The Soft, Oversized, Cashmere Wrap Scarf Thingie
Quince Mongolian Cashmere Wrap
Having something deeply cozy to drape yourself in, be it as a wrap or a long, capacious scarf makes us feel ready to jet off to London to be met by paparazzi before dashing to high tea. And the thing is we get to feel this way even when we’re jetting to the gas station carwash to be met by traffic before grabbing a now-lukewarm preordered coffee from Starbucks. We’ll still feel like royalty. That’s just how a wrap like this works.
Price: $100
12. The Leather Crossbody That Doesn’t Cost A Small Fortune
Quince Italian Leather Convertible Crescent Shoulder Bag
A crescent messenger bag has that timeless elegant shape at the perfect not-too-big and not-too-small size. Add to that the pretty gold accents, and this purse becomes a major part of making your clothes look styled instead of just worn. It brings this or any denim ensemble up a level. Plus, it’s made from such buttery Italian leather, you’ll think it’s designer. Thankfully no labels, so it keeps its quiet luxury appeal. And matches everything.
Price: $120
13. The Cashmere duster
Quince Mongolian Cashmere Duster Cardigan Sweater
The reasoning here is simple. Own a sweater you can wear similarly to a coat. It has that framing and that bit of extra coverage for days we just don’t feel like showing our backsides to the world. The length makes it just a little more statement, but it still has clean lines so we don’t feel swallowed or like we’re in a robe. It also looks really good with a tailored pant like the one below.
Price: $100
14. The Pants That Magically Melt Over Bellies And Thighs
The Colette Cropped Wide-Leg Pants by Maeve: Ponte Edition
And here are the pants that you’ll be tucking every tee and button-down and sweater into for all of time because once you try them on, your butt/ hips/ thighs/ waist will never feel as smoothed and complemented. These pants are made of a material that has some sort of sorcery at work, because they feel like leggings buts look like your most expensive cropped trouser. They’re wide-leg without being too wide, A-line without being too flared. Perfect fit all-around, which is the whole point here, no?
Price: $120
15. The Perfect Tee
If you’re yawning at the notion of a t-shirt being luxury, just think about how frequently you wish you had one that fit you so well you could layer it with absolutely everything you wear and feel amazing about the lines/curves/ proportions it creates. Not all t-shirts are created equal. And this one has been one of the most popular things we’ve written about on our site, precisely because it is not equal to the rest. It’s so much better.
Price: $48
16. The Flats That Make Us Feel Like Audrey Hepburn
Madewell The Greta Ballet Flat
Do you remember us saying you don’t have to reach for feet-killing heels to look luxury? These ballet flats prove why. Equally graceful and sleek with every outfit, yes, the one we just created but also every single other thing on this list. They balance out the looser-fitting sweaters and button-downs we wear constantly. And they feel good, so we can move about all day without a smidge of foot pain.
Price: $98
Bonus: The Frosting On Our Luxe, Minimalist cake
The Jewelry: For the most foolproof collection of minimalist gold jewelry (all under $100!) go HERE.
The Sunglasses: For the glam sunglasses that are better than designer and a third of the price go HERE.
The Coat: For the cream-colored coat that will up-level everything you wear for the rest of your life go HERE.
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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