These 7 Trendy Designer Pieces Are Utterly Hideous, Proving Money Doesn’t Buy Taste
And 7 untrendy pieces that are woooooorlds better.
by The Candidly Team
If anything good comes from dressing after 35, it’s that we now have a sane grip on when and where to spurge on clothes.
And while sometimes we’ll connect to some designer thing on a deep, artful level where it feels like an expression of our very selves, most of the time if we’re springing for something luxury, we really just want it to be 3 things.
Classically gorgeous
Wildly flattering
Uncompromisingly comfortable
And these 7 designer things that are trending right now just ain’t it.
They’re deeply impractical. Cartoonishly expensive. Pretty damn ugly.
And yet, we still soooooort of get the idea behind each one that would make them appealing if they weren’t so blatantly hideous. And for that reason, we included a sensible alternative for each one - not just sensible but in fact, some of our favorite, life-saving pieces that are better than their designer counterparts that cost over a grand. You heard us - better.
But let’s have you judge for yourselves.
What to Get Instead:
The Clare V. Moyen Messenger: When we say we want function, it doesn’t mean we’re giving up on having a style all our own that celebrates brilliantly made, beautiful things. This bag is currently among the most brilliantly made, beautiful things we won’t shut up about. It comes in woven and unwoven, black, tan, and a sea of colors that mysteriously end up in our cart every week, though we’ve been sensible enough to limit ourselves to just one (okay, maybe two). Even though it’s an investment and designer, we could buy 5 of them before we’d reach the cost of some logo-driven bag that’s half the size and half as good. Bold statement here, but if we could only buy one designer bag for the rest of our lives, it would be this one.
Price: $435 - $485
What to Get Instead:
The Everlane The Way-High Sailor Jean: We recently discovered the single most comfortable jeans round our middles and hips and butts. Their shape flatters every shape of human, making any body type look longer and leaner. But most importantly, we just feel amazing in them; they’re basically the antidote to low-rise styles that are made exclusively for 6 ft, 00 models. But frankly, these jeans would look better on them, too.
Price: $128
What to Get Instead:
The Quince Mongolian Cashmere Boxy Crewneck Sweater: We do, naturally, want to live in the softest cashmere 72% of the year, which happens to be the exact percentage of time we run chilly. We’ve turned to Quince a million times over to achieve this life goal without spending all our money. This particular sweater has such a flattering, sliiightly boxy shape, which makes it a daily go-to that we pair with any of our jeans. It has a quiet way of making all our outfits look luxury. We also live in Quince’s oversized cashmere boyfriend cardi. Just sayin.’ They’re good.
Price: $80
What to Get Instead:
The Quince 100% Organic Cotton Denim Jacket: Here we are going on about Quince again. But $50 for a perfect, soft, organic cotton jean jacket that we will layer over every skirt and cropped pant and long trouser and midi dress we wear til the day we die? No brainer.
Price: $50
What to Get Instead:
The Madewell Greta Ballet Flat: Maybe you’re not a metallic person, and that’s fine. This graceful little Mary Jane flat also comes in black and brown (and hey, there’s even a more toned-down rhinestone version), but silver can dress up and sub in for a heel on fancy occasions when we don’t want foot pain. It’s still timeless and classic, but it also amps up our outfits, turning them into looks instead of just clothes.
Price: $98
What to Get Instead:
Z Supply Knit Coat: Care for a peek behind the curtain? We all own this coat. In addition to falling in love with the plaid because it elevates all the neutral clothes we wear daily, there’s a perfect tan, brown, and black. It’s incredibly soft and knit but also weighted, so it’s the ideal transitional piece. We wear ours year-round as a result.
Price: $199
What to Get Instead:
The Tuckernuck Blythe Dress: Dresses are hard. So we’re very sold on how easy this one is with its sleek and sophisticated shape and coveted belly coverage, but the bow in the back makes it all 27x more thrilling. It also comes in black, red, and white and sizes up to XXL. We appreciate that we can pull this dress from our closet for any date night or occasion even on days we’re feeling bloated and meh, add a pair of comfy heels, and poof, we’re chic!
Price: $198
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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