5 Elegant Items You Need for the Demure Dressing Trend

Lately, I have noticed a serious shift. It’s like there’s something in the air, and it isn’t just a change in temperature. The last few years, I think fashion has been divided (generally speaking) into two camps: the classicists that were early adopters of quiet luxury—they pine for Phoebe Philo-era Celine, wear a uniform of The Row-inspired timeless, textured pieces in a monochromatic palette, and have an Instagram algorithm that pushes Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Sofia Richie over all else. The other camp is filled with the more experimental dressers amongst us. More likely to shop secondhand, adopt a TikTok “core” trend or be Y2K-obsessed, this crowd might site Alexa Chung as being their best dressed celeb, and tell themselves they’re “so Julia” when getting ready in the morning.

But for the first time, there’s a trend that I think will appeal to both parties. It blends the timeless elegance of the quiet luxury camp, but has the vintage appeal of the other. Enter: Demure Dressing. If you’re not familiar, stay with me. Not to be confused with the “very demure, very mindful” viral TikTok meme Jools Lebron from 2024, demure dressing is a term we’ve coined for the sudden surge in channeling the prim and proper styles that are reminiscent of the ’50s or ’90s. Think skirt suits over those with trousers—maybe with a mini skirt, but also those with a knee-length finish. The blazers are often collarless, have a curved silhouette that cinches in the waist, or could be styled with a belt to give the same effect—regardless, this is a totally different approach to tailoring to the more ’80s power suit that’s dominated the last decade. Worn with low denier tights, sling-backs, polo necks and pearls, this is a style that was adorned by the Kennedys: with Jackie Kennedy-Onasis in the ’50s and ’60s as well as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in the ’90s.

I first realised this trend was about to be huge on a recent trip to New York, where I saw many women on their way to work dressed exactly like this. Think full-length double-breasted wool coats with a little structure in the shoulders, which were worn unbuttoned and dramatically flew open with every breeze. Oversized clutch bags and top-handle ‘Lady’ bags were draped on their forearms, with long leather gloves on their hands. Then I saw not one, not two but three pillbox hats perched purposefully, yet quite effortlessly, on neatly combed hair.
And it’s the same on the spring/summer 2026 runways, as well as on my Instagram feed. Content creators like Christie Tyler, The Pouf and Marilyn NK have all been early adopters demure dressing, and designers like Fendi, Gucci and Calvin Klein also showcased collections for next spring with this same aesthetic.