Quick answer: Nikol Johnson walks through eleven 2024 style trends and sorts them into keepers and skips. The best are the timeless ones: quiet luxury, secondhand designer, prep-school classics, 90s non-basic basics, power dressing, updated sequins, and kitten heels. The ones she skips are bow-heavy girl core, sheer dressing, oversized bags, and literal marine-life jewelry. Her rule: treat trends as suggestions, not assignments.
Key takeaways
- Quiet luxury and secondhand/consignment shopping stay strong: quality and longevity over hype.
- Prep-school style, 90s non-basic basics, and power dressing are classics resurfacing, and Nikol loves all three.
- She skips bow-heavy girl core, sheer dressing, and oversized bags because they don't flatter or last.
- Sequins are moving from New Year's Eve into daytime and the office, and kitten heels are her go-to.
- Filter every trend through your own style, then finish the look with a polished, natural face.
Hey ladies, in this roughly 10-minute video, former Ford model and Nikol Beauty founder Nikol Johnson runs down the 2024 style trends worth knowing. Some she is genuinely excited about, a few she is happily skipping, and she is honest about why. Here is the full best-and-worst breakdown, plus how to make any trend feel like you.
What Are the Best 2024 Fashion Trends for Mature Women?
Nikol's favorites all share one thing: longevity. These are the trends she is actually bringing into her own closet for the year.
- Quiet luxury - understated cashmere, silk, and well-cut pieces that look polished and mix easily; she credits its staying power to rising luxury prices.
- Secondhand and consignment - where she now buys almost everything, from designer shoes to ball gowns.
- Sequins, dressed down - no longer just for New Year's Eve; she is excited to wear a cropped sequin blazer into the daytime and the office.
- Prep school - Miu Miu, Prada, and Gucci leaned preppy; button-downs, striped shirts, and crew-neck or cashmere sweaters are her roots.
- Non-basic basics - 90s minimalism in the Carolyn Bessette Kennedy mold: a great black tee, good jeans, and clean layering pieces.
- Power dressing - strong blazers, suiting, and yes, shoulder pads to define the waist.
- Kitten heels - her go-to for an elevated look without the height of a stiletto.
Which 2024 Trends Is Nikol Skipping?
She is candid that some runway trends do not translate to real life, or simply are not her.
- Girl core - bows, ribbons, and lace; pretty, but not a look she feels she can pull off.
- Sheer dressing - striking on the runway but, in her words, tricky to make work day to day.
- Extra-large bags - she finds them disorganized and out of proportion, and prefers a smaller bag with just the essentials.
- Marine-life ocean jewelry - lobster necklaces and jellyfish motifs leave her unsure, though she does love a coral piece.
Why Does Nikol Buy Almost Everything Secondhand?
Consignment is the trend she is most passionate about. She hunts specific designers, studies runway collections from the 90s and early 2000s, and will wait months to reunite a skirt with its matching jacket. Beyond the value of buying real quality for a fraction of retail, she loves the history and one-of-a-kind personality of pre-owned pieces, and notes it is the more sustainable way to shop. If you want a wardrobe no one else has, this is where she would start.
How Do You Make Any Trend Work at Any Age?
Nikol's filter is simple: does it suit your proportions, your lifestyle, and your taste? Adopt one trend piece into a wardrobe of classics and you look current; wear a trend head to toe and it reads as a costume. The finishing touch is always grooming, because a polished face elevates even the simplest outfit. A sheer, even base like BB Cream and a classic lip such as NikRay lipstick are the kind of low-effort, timeless finish that works with quiet luxury and prep alike.
The bottom line
Trends are suggestions, not assignments. Keep the timeless ones, skip whatever wears you, and let your own style decide. When your outfit is set, finish the look with a polished, natural face: explore face, lips, and our best sellers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is quiet luxury?
Quiet luxury is an aesthetic built on exceptional fabric, impeccable fit, and little to no visible branding. Think cashmere, silk, and beautifully cut neutrals that signal quality through how they are made rather than which logo they carry. Nikol favors it because the pieces have longevity and are easy to mix and match.
Which 2024 trends does Nikol recommend most for mature women?
She is most enthusiastic about quiet luxury, secondhand and consignment shopping, prep-school classics, and kitten heels. She also welcomes 90s non-basic basics and power dressing. Her reasoning is consistent: these read as timeless classics resurfacing, so they stay wearable long after a single season passes.
Which trends does she suggest skipping?
Nikol is skipping bow-and-ribbon girl core, sheer dressing, and oversized bags, and she is undecided on literal marine-life jewelry like lobster necklaces. Her issue is wearability: pieces that look striking on the runway but are hard to style, unflattering, or out of proportion in everyday life rarely earn a place in her closet.
Is consignment shopping worth it?
Nikol thinks so, and it is her main way to shop. Consignment lets you buy genuine designer quality for a fraction of retail, adds one-of-a-kind personality, and is more sustainable than buying new. She recommends learning your favorite designers and collections so you can spot true value when you find it.
Are sequins only for evening now?
Not anymore, according to Nikol. She points to sequins moving beyond New Year's Eve into daytime and the workplace, and is excited to style a cropped sequin blazer for the office. The key is treating a sparkly piece as one considered element rather than an all-over statement.
Where can I watch Nikol's full trend breakdown?
Watch the complete video above. Nikol walks through all eleven 2024 trends in order, sharing her honest take on each and explaining which ones she is bringing into her own wardrobe for the year.
