OFM Style: Minimalism to Maximalism

In a turbulent time, in which everyone is still unsure whether to be out on the town or cooped up inside of their home, the ways people express themselves has become more important than ever before. Minimalist fashion can be summed up as clean-cut and functional wear, while also taking cues from athleisure and casual uses of streetwear, all formed into a homogenous look. 

While maximalism is a complete expression of one’s own personal taste… to the max, leaning more toward camp in most instances. Whether you utilize the clean lines and uniform silhouettes of minimalists or bold colors or an eclectic host of accessories for maximalists, these two styles are vying for space in the fashion front. 

First and foremost, many people abide by the rule of “less is more,” even remembering to “take off one thing” before departing for the day. Even unconsciously, many people want to look good and be functional. Minimalism allows this, as it is the easiest of all the fashion trends to fall into due to its nature. 

However, successfully pulling it off is much more difficult, due to the attention needed for a look that is brought together by clean, parallel lines, a close-to-perfect fit, and mutable colors. Making the minimal into a look is not easy, but it is accessible in that it’s easy to imitate nature. Whites, beiges, blacks, and even monochromatic pieces are essential in the minimal look while also steering clear of prints and marks. Minimalism may not take much of an imagination to behold, but it is no slouch in its effortless mastery of contemporary style.

On the other hand, the loud—and strange to some—sister of minimalism is maximalism. The mixing of colors and textures is one way to describe it, and it can also involve lots of jewelry. The silhouette of maximalism can vary between giant, bustling coats and shirts to form-fitting ski wear with cargo pants and chunky jewelry, allowing for more playtime while getting dressed. 

A maximalist takes great care to ensure that their own unique, personal style is on full display for all to see, creating a link between maximalism and camp. However, camp is a strange and flamboyant expression, which can be both minimal and maximal, while maximalism in itself can be uniform and seemingly subdued. Like minimalism, it’s the attention to details and how the outfit is presented to the world matters.

For many years, the fashion mainstream itself has tilted back and forth between a minimal and maximal look. The fierce and wonky style that dominated the early 2000s club scene included bright colors; beads; and Ed Hardy prints on matching hats, shirts, and pants to make a full statement. The 2010s, for some reason, combined business casual attire with club clothes. Ties, clean hemlines, vests, and tailored button-ups ushered in the proto-minimalism movement which we see getting popular today. 

The appeal of it all is that, unlike most casual wear, minimalism is elevated casual. Maximalism gives one the chance to really be creative and introspective with how they perceive themselves and how they want others to perceive them. 

Whether the allure of effortless elevation or the invitation of creative personal wear appeals to you more, both minimalism and maximalism thrive hand in hand and should be seen as two sides of the same reversible jacket.