LIFESTYLE
TFFT. We have been in something of a beige epidemic and no matter which way it turns, beige doesn't manage to have anything more than zero personality. Beige, the colour of sad bread, has made us carbon copies of each other, homes, wardrobes, cars, and perhaps thoughts, all the same. It's flowed through all of our lives, sanding the edges off everything, until nothing sticks out enough to be criticised. What started as a quiet luxury shade has now become an excuse for having no opinions at all. Safe is the new luxury, apparently.
Not long ago we were championing quiet luxury as the antidote to the look at me excess. After too much leopard print, clashing brand logos and items that screamed "look how much money I have," it was refreshing to look around and see brands that are only recognised if you're in the know. But know we did, we obsessively researched it from Succession and Google picture searches, to Sofia Ritchie's minimalist chic and Gwyneth's ski trial. We all aimed for stealth wealth and billionaire chic in such a way that not only did we lose the plot entirely, we also all looked the same whilst we were doing it. It turns out you can only stalk so many stealth-wealth Pinterest boards before you realise you've just recreated the same 'old money' look as half the office. So we did what any self-respecting group of people who've just been mildly humiliated by their own taste does: overcorrected into the opposite of quiet and subtlety.
And right on cue, fashion did exactly what we were asking: 90s prints, chunky gold, clashing patterns and all the things quiet luxury aficionados pretended they had never worn. Interiors have followed just a beat behind. Walk into a restaurant that's opened in the last year and we'll bet it's got patterned wallpaper going wall-to-ceiling, ornate dining chairs, lighting in different levels and lots and lots of colour. And no two restaurants look the same. We're back!
It couldn't have come at a better time. The pendulum swings of trends have been exhausting, skinny vs. wide leg, low rise vs high waisted, ankle socks vs trainer socks and adding to the layer are micro trends, cottage core, mob wife, office siren all positioned to keep us adding to cart and moving so fast we can't tell you what the latest one is or what half of them represent. Maximalism takes the relentless trend following away, you just can't be cottage core whilst wearing Versace print.
We're not really full maximalists over here, we're still fans of neutrals, a much nicer shade of beige, but we aren't fans of hiding everything that makes us, us. So if you're reading this with a mild look of horror, we're not saying throw your cashmere out for thrift shopping or swap all your whites for zebra print. We're more about championing individuality and not chasing trends mindlessly. Personality's back, and it's coming for our sofas, our sweaters and possibly our savings.
