MORE IS MORE IS MORE
Quiet luxury? No, thank you.
Fortune favours the bold, they say. When it comes to a Maximalist attitude in styling, the bold isn’t the one dressed in every colour of the rainbow; in a mad clash of patterns; in excess, just because. Rather, the Maximalist wears exactly as much as it takes to feel right, in favour of details and punctuation that tell the world with a single glance: this is what I like. This is who I am.
It’s a matter of being honest, really. Why be quiet about who you are? Wear the shades and silhouettes you find so fabulous, Korean colour analysis and conventions be damned.
Paint by Numbers
Seasonal colours have a way of defining the zeitgeist. We’ve since careened past a summer of aquamarine into an autumn of rich, decadent purple, but there’s no hard and fast rule about titular colouring… as long as there is colour. Better if there’s more. And, better yet if you’ve consulted the creative’s Japanese standard, A Dictionary of Color Combinations, in advance of your sartorial put-togethers. It is an art, after all.
Oh, Feel This
The striations of a plush fur coat can look like striping; the lustre of a velvet sheen under lighting can read as a beautifully printed pattern. It’s the very presence of texture that forces a visual, two-dimensional detail into the physicality of the three-dimensional. A treat for the eyes as it is for your hands, your skin; their hands, their skin. Spritz on a favourite scent and make it a 4-D sensorial experience.
Peeling It Back
It’s a cold-weather adage tried and true: build it in layers. So, don’t just wear it, style it in proportions and expressions and combinations you may not have considered previously. The ability to see an inner layer and bring it forwards into the exterior gives your existing wardrobe a brand-new context where possibilities abound. To start? Pull a short sleeve over a longer sleeve, Avril Lavigne-style.
No Subtleties
Coco Chanel has famously encouraged the removal of one accessory, always, as the final flourish. A Maximalist would do quite the opposite, and squeeze another (maybe one more?) into the curve of their ear. Another string of pearls can’t hurt, too. Why limit yourself to always one less?
Don’t be shy, now. Wear everything – everything! – you’ve ever wanted to try wearing with this trending edit.