What people Get wrong about Looking Expensive

We live in an era where everything is up for consumption. Whether it's through the pictures we take on Instagram that paint a realistic (or unrealistic) picture of our lives, or Quick videos that showcase our highlight reels, most everyone is trying to portray an image. That's good. That's human. The voice of "quiet Luxury" has, ironically, muffled out on our timelines, yet so many people seem to conflate the idea of "looking expensive" with Luxury in general.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the people who have to let you know how many labels, Archival pieces, and branded jewelry pieces *cough* van Cleef bracelet set* cough* they are wearing. all at once. all at the same time. Now, in a literal sense, and you're a fashion addict like me, you can glance and see that these people literally look expensive. However, this is more about status signaling than about dressing. Even if the labels were more inconspicuous and an "if you know you know" deal, that also doesn't automatically translate to looking expensive.

Getting back to the basics is so simple but paramount. clean, perfect tailoring on your clothing, creatively styling your outfits with that cool thing you found at the thrift store,

and a high-end statement piece to make a bomb outfit. Looking expensive is, in my opinion, a combination of the tangible and intangible. It's an energy one has when they're energetically comfortable and confident in what they're wearing and in owning their outfit, rather than their outfit doing the opposite. As long as the items are clean, made of quality materials (I'm looking at you, Shein), well-fitted to you, and the styling is good, nothing else really matters. Overall, the irony is when we stop being so focused on " looking expensive," and just let ourselves do what we are supposed to do with fashion (which is play) and figure out what works for us as individuals, that's where we really discover our own unique and personalized iterations of what "looking expensive" (which is just code for: no one can tell how much you spent on your outfit becasue you look so stylish shap and put together). I guess the general message is to just be yourself and feel comfortable doing so with your style.