Have You Been to Massimo Lately?

It's good. Really really good.

Before we begin, a few words. I’m as mad about music as I am about fashion (maybe more so) and I’ve been asked to create a Spotify list but haven’t gotten around to it. While I was drafting this post, I had a playlist going and an idea came to me. For each newsletter, I’ll create a corresponding Substack Spotify playlist for your listening while reading pleasure (the few songs that played as I typed). A little way to get to know me.

Dutti’s Not Just About Dupes

Massimo Dutti has been quietly perfecting their game and while some were sleeping on it, others caught on and have created such a demand for pieces you’d think it was high end, not high street. Massimo used to be a stopgap – a place to tide me over until luxury landed from runway.  And while they deliver some of the best dupes, I can no longer put them in the singular copycat category. They’re carving out their own place in the minimal space.  The fabrics flow nicely, the cuts are decent, the styles are mostly understated, and a lot of it is affordable. You still have to sort through it but I’m more often pleasantly surprised with what I receive than disappointed.

Limited edition items are selling out at Margaux speed (Margaux is my new manic measurement metric) and I’ve signed up for more “Item Availability” notifications than I can track. I’ve been sour lately as many of the things I want never rematerialize on the site and they don’t show up on resale often as people aren’t willing to part with them. And that’s a very good thing. Not necessarily for me, but for the planet. See, shopping at Massimo still counts as a guilty pleasure - they’re not quite environmental enthusiasts.  Even though production of certain collections is limited, they have a long way to go to achieve any kind of sustainability standing. Having said that, between their shows, the imagery in their campaigns, and the pricing, resistance has been futile.   The styling is so on point that I’m taking entire looks from their site - head to toe. And that is very unlike me.

My shopping cart is always full (currently has eight items in it and the total cost is still less than the average price of designer loafers) and I did a quick closet calculation and discovered my Massimo clothes and accessories are most often in the rotation (which helps ease my conscience, a little).  I’ve featured one of their skirts in far too much content and have annoyed hundreds of followers with the message - '“sorry, it’s from a past season.’’ I’m sure everyone is sick of seeing it and there’s nothing really special about it but for me, it’s been a wardrobe hero. My only regret is not having purchased a backup.  If I take it on a trip it’ll either be on my body or in a carry on. That baby won’t be checked.

And now for the pics (apart from said skirt below, most of the items are still available).

I took a size medium in the skirt I'm afraid to lose so it would sit nice and low. There might be some left here .

Blue shirt | A shirt similar to the green one | Sage green tote (the other pieces aren’t readily available)

These fit slightly large to size so I took a size 6 (I’m usually a size 36.5). They’re comfortable - I didn’t have to break them in.  The only caution is the sole is evil and waiting to turn your white carpet black so either resole or apply tape to the bottom - esp if you’re filming inside (the latter is more a note to self, grrr). They’re slippery too.

This linen shirt is meant to be oversized and I’m still undecided as to which size to keep (this is a small).  My arms are unreasonably long (the fam calls me Elasta Girl) so with these bracelet sleeves, I may need to keep the small to get the longer length.  Silver cuff no longer available but keep your eyes on their jewelry offering — that deserves an entire post.

Lemaire like vibes and turns out, also the Massimo sales staff uniform.  I saw it on the rep who was helping me and asked her to bring me both the top and pants  - I took an xs in the shirt (but the small worked too) and size 4 in the pants.  The pants are snug at the waist.  Granted, it’s partly because I’ve been eating Reese’s peanut butter cups with total abandon but also, I think they’re meant to sit higher.  Best part is they required no hemming (I’m 5’2”).  Paired with my old The Row Gaia sandals.

These sandals were another limited edition offering that vanished quickly but another style  just came up and they’re pretty.  Note – Massimo’s 6.5 is a size 37 on the bottom and too large for my 36.5 feet so because they’re open toe sandals, I opted for size 6.

I took an xs in this striped shirt but I want the sleeves a little longer so I may trade up. It’s linen so even though it’s black, I’ll be wearing it come summer. The skirt is old Mango but this skirt looks nice and it’s currently sitting in my cart.

The shirt I’m wearing isn’t Massimo (it’s from their sister line, Zara, from a while back and it’s sold out) but MD has a similar shirt | Paired with my The Row jeans and Debee bag but this bag looks similar. Gold cuff by Massimo.

And finally, some of the pieces in my shopping cart that you might see in a reel or hear about later:

Pants  Top  Skirt(some links may not work if items aren’t available in your country)

I could go on but let’s leave it for another note. See you next week!

N, xo