Dear Elemi

What Is the Difference Between Looking Expensive and Looking Elegant?

Sunday 1 November 2026 · 5 min read · Tania Cottew

The easiest way to explain the difference is through one remarkable garment: Nana’s bold floral silk coat.

It is not subtle or minimalist. It has a creamy background, vivid red flowers, pink petals and soft leaf-green foliage. It is open at the front, full of movement and visually memorable.

Yet it can look elegant in three completely different ways.

Looking expensive

Looking expensive is usually about the impression of value:

• refined fabric • excellent condition • careful fit • restrained styling • polished accessories • a controlled colour palette • nothing appearing accidental

It often relies on simplicity. A quiet outfit in beautiful materials can suggest luxury very effectively.

Looking elegant

Looking elegant is about harmony and ease:

• the colours work together • the proportions feel deliberate • the clothes suit the occasion • the wearer appears comfortable • the outfit has personality • one striking piece is allowed to lead

Elegance does not require every garment to be costly. It can include linen, a handmade dress, an inexpensive top or a treasured family piece.

Three examples with Nana’s coat

1. Cream satin, cream linen and chartreuse

The first outfit pairs the coat with:

• a cream satin bodysuit • cream linen wide-leg trousers • chartreuse shoes

This feels like fresh summer elegance.

The cream creates a light foundation beneath the floral silk. The satin adds a little glow, while the linen keeps the outfit relaxed and breathable. The chartreuse shoes pick up the soft leaf green in the coat without trying to match it exactly.

This is elegant because the outfit is coherent and intentional. It does not need to look conventionally luxurious; the colour, texture and proportion do the work.

2. Pink dress and pearls

The second outfit pairs the coat with:

• a pink dress • pearls at the throat • a pearl-detail bag • pearl-detail shoes

This works because the dress contains the same pink as the petals in the coat. The pink is not competing with the red flowers; it is continuing the floral story.

The pearls create a quiet thread through the whole outfit:

• at the throat • in the bag • on the shoes

That gives the look polish and makes it move naturally from day into evening.

This outfit comes closest to looking both expensive and elegant: the pearls suggest refinement, while the pink and red keep it joyful and personal.

3. A handmade 1940s silk dress

The third outfit pairs the coat with:

• a soft leaf-green silk dress • made by hand in a 1940s style • a pink bag • restrained jewellery

This is the most individual combination.

The leaf green echoes the foliage in the coat, while the pink bag reflects the petals. The two silk garments create a conversation between:

• Nana’s wedding memory • your own sewing and craftsmanship • 1940s style • botanical colour

This may not be “expensive-looking” in the conventional minimalist sense. It is far more interesting than that. It looks cultivated, artistic and deeply personal.

What the three looks reveal

The coat remains the same, but the mood changes:

• Cream satin, cream linen and chartreuse: fresh and relaxed • Pink and pearls: romantic and celebratory • Handmade leaf-green 1940s silk: historic and artistic

All three are elegant because they share the same principles:

1. They take colours directly from the coat. 2. They allow the coat to remain the main event. 3. They use texture deliberately. 4. They avoid adding unnecessary visual competition. 5. They look comfortable rather than overworked. 6. They contain a story.

So the real distinction is this:

Looking expensive is about suggesting value. Looking elegant is about creating harmony, ease and meaning.

Nana’s silk coat proves that elegance does not have to be quiet, neutral or conventionally luxurious.

Sometimes elegance is bold, colourful, handmade, inherited - and impossible to forget.

With love, Elemi