What Is the Old Money Aesthetic? Quiet Luxury Explained (With Examples)

What the old money aesthetic is

Old money is the look of wealth that doesn't need to announce itself. Wikipedia's entry on quiet luxury defines it as understated elegance, high-quality materials and timeless styling, with no visible logos or other open markers of wealth. In practice that means a palette of cream, camel, navy and gray; cashmere, wool, linen and leather; tailored trousers, knits and blazers; and jewelry you notice only up close, such as pearls or a thin gold chain. The setting matters as much as the outfit: tennis clubs, sailing docks, libraries and country houses.

It became a mainstream trend in 2023. Euronews reported that Google searches for "quiet luxury" rose 614% in the year to June 2023, and named three moments behind it: the final season of HBO's Succession, Sofia Richie's April wedding in Antibes and Gwyneth Paltrow's courtroom wardrobe during her ski trial.

The idea is older than the hashtag. Wikipedia traces it to the late 18th century, when Europe's new capitalist classes set themselves apart from the aristocracy with sober clothing instead of courtly display. It also separates two terms that often get mixed up: stealth wealth hides money completely, while quiet luxury signals it to people who know what to look for, through fabric, fit and labels that stay inside the garment. Brands it names as examples include Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, Hermès and the tailors of Savile Row.

Old money outfits: the basics

• Pick two or three neutrals and stay inside them: cream with navy, or camel with gray.
• Choose texture over print: a cable-knit, a crisp oxford shirt, wool trousers, a plain leather belt.
• Keep jewelry small and real-looking: pearl studs, a thin chain, a simple watch.
• Remove visible logos, including on bags and sneakers; loafers or clean leather shoes fit better.
• Groom rather than style: neat hair, light makeup, pressed clothes.

Old money next to clean girl and Y2K

Old money is easiest to see next to the two aesthetics it is most often mixed up with. They differ in what they change. The template runs one look at a time, so we made all three from the same waist-up photo of one sample person, a woman in a cream sweater on a city street, and wrote down what each run changed. The hair, makeup, clothes, props and place changed every time. The face held in old money and Y2K. The clean girl look changed it in both of our runs: wider, rounder and several years older, with a broader nose and heavier brows, so she read as another woman. We show old money and Y2K below; the clean girl column in the table describes the run we left out.

The same look for men

For men the same rules apply: tailoring, knitwear, neutral colors and no logos. Style Makeover tries it on you from one photo and keeps your face, build and hair: pick Old money, or switch to Streetwear, Techwear or Smart casual to compare. Each run is one look and costs 1 photo. In our run from a waist-up photo of a man in a blue shirt, it returned a full-length picture: a navy blazer over a cream cable-knit, a light-blue collar, gray flannel trousers and brown suede loafers, in a formal garden in low sun. Because the input stopped at the waist, the trousers and shoes are the template's choice, not a restyle of his own. More men's hair, beard and style templates are in the hair, beard and style hub.

Try it on your own photo

1. 1

   Step 1: Pick a waist-up photo

   Face clearly visible, daylight, nothing covering your face. The template's photo slot asks for waist-up or closer.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose the aesthetic

   Set Aesthetic to Old money. Clean girl is the default, so check it before you run.

3. 3

   Step 3: Run it and compare

   Each run makes one look for 1 photo. Run it again with Clean girl or Y2K selected to see the set side by side.

Photo tips for this look

• Waist-up beats a close selfie here. The outfit is half of the old money look, and the template needs your shoulders and torso to dress.
• Use daylight. Soft, even light keeps your skin tone steady when the template adds its own setting.
• Wear something plain. A busy print or a big logo in the original gives the restyle more to fight with.
• Keep your hair visible. The template restyles hair too, and it can only work with what it can see.
• For a matching set, use the same photo for all three aesthetics so the only thing that changes is the look.

If you like the quiet palette, the Canon G7X template gives an ordinary photo warm, golden processing without changing the outfit, and more looks in this vein are in trending looks for her.