Practical, insightful, witty or even a little raunchy, fashion designers and influencers have said it all throughout the decades. In fact, 50 of their best quotes are meaningful enough to be applied to life inside and outside the dressing room.
1. Make it simple, but significant. – Don Draper
2. I travel light. I think the most important thing is to be in a good mood and enjoy life, wherever you are. – Diane von Fürstenberg
3. Attitude is everything. – Diane von Fürstenberg
4. “No” is a full sentence. – Mary-Kate Olsen, Miss Vogue, Spring/Summer 2015
5. You get on with life by facing it. – Betty Halbreich, I’ll Drink to That: Life in Style, with a Twist
6. Great style, of course, has less to do with physical beauty than with high intellect. – Betty Halbreich, I’ll Drink to That: Life in Style, with a Twist
7. It’s true that if you have form without substance, you’re empty. But if you have substance without form, you’re boring. – Betty Halbreich
8. The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. – Coco Chanel
9. Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity. – Coco Chanel
10. It’s very important to take risks. I think that research is very important, but in the end you have to work from your instinct and feeling and take those risks and be fearless. – Anna Wintour
11. In order to be well dressed, you must be well naked. – Oscar de la Renta
12. One is never overdressed or underdressed in a little black dress. – Karl Lagerfeld
13. Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants. – Karl Lagerfeld
14. Trendy is the last stage before tacky. – Karl Lagerfeld
15. You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it. – Edith Head
16. Your dress should be tight enough to show you are a woman, and loose enough to show you are a lady. – Edith Head
17. When in doubt, wear red. – Bill Blass
18. Anyone can get dressed up and glamorous, but it is how people dress on their days off that is the most intriguing. – Alexander Wang
19. The real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet. – Christian Dior
20. People will stare. Make it worth their while. – Harry Winston
21. I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity—all I hope for in my clothes. – Yves Saint Laurent
22. Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman wearing it. – Yves Saint Laurent
23. Isn’t elegance forgetting what one is wearing? – Yves Saint Laurent
24. Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s something else that comes from within you. – Ralph Lauren
25. I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can’t possess radiance; you can only admire it. – Elizabeth Taylor
26. Real style is never right or wrong. It is a matter of being yourself on purpose. – G. Bruce Boyer
27. Women who wear black lead colorful lives. – Neiman Marcus
28. When I woman says, “I have nothing to wear,” what she really means is, “there is nothing here for who I’m supposed to be today.” – Caitlin Moran
29. Not everything happens for a reason. Sometimes life just sucks. – Alexa Chung
30. Nobody goes through life without having their heart broken, and one day you’ll wake up and it will be okay. – Alexa Chung
31. I don’t give a fuck what people think, because people don’t think. – Kanye West
32. The best thing to hold onto in life is each other. – Audrey Hepburn
33. There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl’s complexion. – Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
34. You are either in your bed or in your shoes, so it pays to invest in both. – John Wildsmith
35. At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can. – Frida Kahlo
36. Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic. – Frida Kahlo
37. I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best; the subject I want to better. – Frida Kahlo
38. What people say isn’t going to stop me. I have to do things for myself. – Kate Moss
39. It’s a sin to be tired. – Kate Moss
40. I like someone who is a little crazy, but coming from a good place. I think scars are sexy because it means you made a mistake that led to a mess. – Angelina Jolie
41. I’m not frightened by anyone’s perception of me. – Angelina Jolie
42. It’s a mistake to think that once you’re done with school, you need never learn anything new. – Sophia Loren
43. I leave before being left. I decide. – Brigitte Bardot
44. Only idiots refuse to change their minds. – Brigitte Bardot
45. My mother was right: When you’ve got nothing left, all you can do is get into silk underwear and start reading Proust. – Jane Birkin
46. I’d rather live on my own than live with a face that looks at me with the wrong eyes. – Jane Birkin
47. I’m open to love, but guys should have to earn it. Because the minute they get it, they want something else. – Rihanna, Cosmopolitan, July 2011
48. I’m waiting for the man who’s ballsy enough to deal with me. I’m going to wait, though. You always find the wrong shit when you go looking. – Rihanna, Vogue, October 2012
49. For me it’s tougher to be vulnerable than to be tough. – Rihanna, Cosmopolitan, July 2011
50. Don’t let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself, and most importantly: be kind to others, even if you don’t like them. – Stacy London