Actress Gwyneth Paltrow enters court for her trial on March 24, 2023 in Park City, Utah.
Rick Bowmer | Getty Images
What is quiet luxury?
Marked by expensive materials in muted tones, quiet luxury, also known as Thomaï Serdari, professor of marketing and director of the Fashion and Luxury Program at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said stealth wealth is the “absolute absence of logos and anything too conspicuous”.
“Luxury brands rely on the quality of the materials, and they have very unique techniques,” she said, such as tailoring, stitching or other small details that only someone who is very familiar with a particular item can recognize. “That becomes the differentiating factor for those in the know,” Serdari said.
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During her daily court appearances, Paltrow wears high-end brands such as Celine and The Row, as well as $1,450 black Prada boots, and carries a $325 Smythson company’s signature blue notebook.
“We have access to these semi-private moments, and we want to replicate their style,” Serdari said.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow leaves court accused of hitting Terry Sanderson during a family ski vacation in 2016 in Park City, Utah, March 21, 2023. ).
Rick Bowmer | AFP | Getty Images
Of course, understated luxury is nothing new.
Followed by financial crisis, “rich people want a little softer,” Serdari said. In the fifteen years since, fashion has grown bolder, she added.
Now, after a so-called K-shaped recovery left the wealthiest Americans better off than before, the stealth wealth style is being reborn as Americans become increasingly polarized economically.
This time around, however, the tone is more understated despite the higher price tag.
One of the central characters of “Succession” even teased Check Burberry Tote Bag retails at $2,890calling the luxury bag “ridiculously large”.
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Can the typical American afford a $600 Loro Piana cashmere baseball cap like the one worn in “Succession”? “I’m really skeptical,” Serdari said.
Fortunately, the low-key luxury trend is not to buy the exact item, but to replicate the look with fitted clothes in neutral or monochrome colors, she says.
Carolyn McClanahan is a certified financial planner and founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida. t-shirt from Target or walmart — Just like Romain Roy did in the last season of Inheritance.
McClanahan, a member of CNBC’s advisory board, added that this kind of low-key luxury without name tags and logos is “long overdue.”
With a slowing economy and persistent inflation leaving many Americans feeling stretched thin, it’s time to shed the “keep up with the neighbors” mentality.
“Find quality items that last longer — that’s better than disposable items,” says McClanahan.