Cartier Love bracelets, Van Cleef and Arpels Alhambra necklaces, and Tiffany Bone Cuffs don’t exactly whisper luxury, they scream it. They are also all very in right now.
Sales of Cartier are up 11% at luxury resale store The RealReal this year, according to a new report from the retailer, while sales of Van Cleef are up 49% and Tiffany are up 55%. Branded jewels are fueling the growth: Searches for the aforementioned Bone Cuff are up 118%, and those for Cartier collar necklaces — the iconic Juste un Clou is particularly popular — are up 146%.
People are “going for the things that are really recognizable,” Kelly McSweeney, a senior merchandise manager at The RealReal, told Business Insider. “Those styles continue to do really well for us.”
That points to the fact that quiet luxury — subtle, brandless items that focus on quality, not logos — is falling by the wayside. It’s not that loud luxury — logomania or the “mob wife aesthetic” — is taking its place exactly, but a handful of trends have emerged to compete with the once-ubiquitous craze.
The most on-trend pieces are those that are recognizable to fashion people, McSweeney said, pointing to pieces like the Sophia bag and Margaux bag from The Row, which resells for an average of 15% more than it retails for new, or the Alaïa Teckel bag, a long and thin style that has seen its popularity soar by 59% this year. Neither bag is loudly emblazoned with the brand name, but anyone keeping up with styles could pick them out of a lineup.
“There’s something definitely to be said about in-the-know styles,” McSweeney said. “If you are in the fashion world and if you are in the know, you understand the value of that item.”
Beyond the one-off insidery status symbols, other aesthetic trends are starting to emerge, giving the Loro Piana baseball caps and Brunello Cuccinello cashmere sweaters a run for their money.
A 69% and 68% uptick in searches for Levi’s and leather fringe, respectively, show the West is having a moment. Upticks in searches for fringe bags from Hermès, blouses from Chloé, and dresses from Dôen, as well as vintage Diesel — searches were up 600% — show people are gravitating toward classic Americana styles.
“For boho, it’s not only Chloé specifically, but it’s also nods that we’ve seen within culture — like Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter,'” McSweeney said, adding that cowboy boots and big-buckled belts are having a moment.
Younger generations are also trading streetwear for more corporate looks — think the blazers, loafers, skirt suits, and shoulder pads that were quintessential in the ’90s boardroom. The average sale price for ties on The RealReal was up 51% this year, and suiting saw a 25% increase in sales.
The brands that people are buying are also a C-suite throwback: Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and St. John are all trending up as status brands.
At the same time, more classic streetwear labels are taking a tumble: Sales of Supreme, Off-White, and Nike Jordans were down 25%, 34%, and 35%, respectively. While women’s sneaker sales fell 3%, sales of ballet flats, mid-height heels, and loafers were all up.
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