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Home / Blog / Inspiration

67 Popular Fashion Quotes You Will Love (or Hate)

Published on April 10, 2020 by TMM Staff · Inspiration May contain affiliate links (what's this?)

You may not agree with all of these quotes about fashion, but they will definitely make you think!

Table of Contents

  • Our Top 20 Fashion Quotes
  • Best Fashion Quotes for Men
  • Style Quotes to Inspire You
  • What do you think?

Pierre Cardin in 1978
In this article, we’ll hear from some of the most famous people behind the scenes in the fashion industry, like Pierre Cardin. | Source

Mark Twain said that “Clothes make the man,” but what about the people that make the clothes?

It turns out they have plenty to say about what is (and is not) fashion, and what you should think and do about dressing your absolute best.

So read on to find your own style inspiration in this curated list of quotes from top designers, models and stylists.

Our Top 20 Fashion Quotes

In no particular order…

“To achieve the nonchalance which is absolutely necessary for a man, one article at least must not match.”

-Hardy Amies

“I can go all over the world with just three outfits: a blue blazer and grey flannel pants, a grey flannel suit and black tie.”

-Pierre Cardin

“Good grooming is integral and impeccable style is a must. If you don’t look the part, no one will want to give you time or money.”

–Daymond John

“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.”

-Bill Cunningham

“People say, ‘What do you mean you want to help the world, but you’re so concerned about fashion?’ It’s illegal to be naked. It is something that is extremely important.”

–Kanye West

“Fashion is very important. It is life-enhancing and, like everything that gives pleasure, it is worth doing well.”

–Vivienne Westwood

Fashion quote 1

“The difference between style and fashion is quality.”

–Giorgio Armani

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

–Oscar Wilde

“If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better.”

–Anna Wintour

“I always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect, they are much more interesting.”

–Marc Jacobs

“To be noticed without striving to be noticed, this is what elegance is about.”

–Luciano Barbera

“It is both delusional and stupid to think that clothes don’t really matter and we should all wear whatever we want. Most people don’t take clothing seriously enough, but whether we should or not, clothes do talk to us and we make decisions based on people’s appearances.”

–G. Bruce Boyer

“He who goes against the fashion is himself it’s slave.”

–Logan Pearsall Smith

“Being perfectly well-dressed gives one a tranquillity that no religion can bestow.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

–Leonardo da Vinci

“Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.”

–Ralph Lauren

Fashion quote 10

“The boor covers himself, the rich man or the fool adorns himself and the elegant man gets dressed.”

–Honore de Balzac

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.”

–Henry David Thoreau

Best Fashion Quotes for Men

These are some popular fashion quotes about men’s fashion, in particular:

“Putting on a beautifully designed suit elevates my spirit, extols my sense of self and helps define me as a man to whom details matter.”

–Gay Talese

“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.”

–Arthur Ashe

“Like every good man, I strive for perfection, and, like every ordinary man, I have found that perfection is out of reach — but not the perfect suit.”

–Edward Tivnan

Fashion quote 11

“Dirt makes a man look masculine. Let your hair blow in the wind… All you have to do is look neat when you have to look neat.”

–Hedy Lamarr

“Men tell me that I’ve saved their marriages. It costs them a fortune in shoes, but it’s cheaper than a divorce.”

–Manolo Blahnik

“Almost every man looks more so in a belted trench coat.”

–Sydney J. Harris

Fashion quote 6

“I often take a brand new suit or hat and throw it up against the wall a few times to get that stiff, square newness out of it.”

–Fred Astaire

“A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.”

–Oscar Wilde

“Make it simple, but significant.”

–Don Draper

“Music has shaped men’s fashion and transposed in a playful and witty manner its riding or military heritage. It is difficult to figure out who leads, but music and fashion are connected genetically.”

–Hedi Slimane

“‘Tis hell to a man of spirit to be contradicted by his tailor.”

–Richard Garnett

“Know first who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.”

–Epictetus

“A well-tailored suit is to women what lingerie is to men.”

–Unknown

Fashion quote 2

“It is totally impossible to be well-dressed in cheap shoes.”

–Hardy Amies

“If people turn to look at you on the street, you are not well dressed, but either too stiff, too tight or too fashionable.”

–Beau Brummel

Fashion quote 5

“Never wear anything that panics the cat.”

–J. O’Rourke

“Trendy is the last stage before tacky.”

–Karl Lagerfeld

“Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness, simply didn’t know where to go shopping.”

–Bo Derek

Fashion quote 4

“Men’s fashions all start as sports clothes and progress to the great occasions of state. The tailcoat, which started out as a hunting coat, is just finishing such a journey. The tracksuit is just beginning one.”

–Angus McGill

Style Quotes to Inspire You

If you just need some inspiration, these quotes about fashion might do the trick:

“Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years. There’s no how-to road map to style. It’s about self expression and, above all, attitude.”

–Iris Apfel

“Style is primarily a matter of instinct.”

–Bill Blass

“Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy — but mysterious. But above all black says this: ‘I don’t bother you — don’t bother me.’”

–Yohji Yamamoto

“Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment.”

–Alexander McQueen

“I like nice clothes, whether they’re dodgy or not.”

–David Beckham

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”

–Coco Chanel

Fashion quote 7

“You don’t find a style. A style finds you.”

–Keith Richards

“Even on the most solemn occasions I got away without wearing socks and hid that lack of civilisation in high boots.”

–Albert Einstein

“Style is the answer to everything. A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing. To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it. To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art.”

–Charles Bukowski

Fashion quote 3

“My style – it’s black and it’s expensive.”

–Mark Healey

“I don’t design clothes. I design dreams.”

–Ralph Lauren

“You gotta have style. It helps you get down the stairs. It helps you get up in the morning. It’s a way of life. Without it, you’re nobody. I’m not talking about lots of clothes.”

–Diana Vreeland

“One pretends to do something, or copy someone or some teacher, until it can be done confidently and easily in what becomes one’s own style.”

–Cary Grant

“In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.”

–Elsa Schiaparelli

“I like my money right where I can see it…hanging in my closet.”

–Carrie Bradshaw

Fashion quote 8

“People always ask me what the trends are, but I’m not a believer in trends. Individuality is more important to me, to stand out and have the confidence to wear something you’re comfortable in – it just happens. I’m comfortable wearing a suit.”

–David Gandy

“I think there is beauty in everything. What ‘normal’ people perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it.”

–Alexander McQueen

“Anyone can get dressed up and glamorous, but it is how people dress in their days off that are the most intriguing.”

–Alexander Wang

Fashion quote 9

“Create your own visual style… Let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.”

–Orson Welles

What do you think?

Which of these fashion quotes resonate with you? Which ones do you disagree with?

Let us know in the comments section down below!

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About TMM Staff

The Modest Man staff writers are experts in men's lifestyle who love teaching guys how to live their best lives.

If an article is published under TMM Staff, that means multiple writers worked on it. For example, sometimes several of us have experience with a certain brand, so we collaborate to publish a more thorough review.

Or, if an article was originally written by one person, but then it was updated by someone else, we'll re-publish it under TMM Staff.

Remember: all of our articles (including those below) are written by real people with decades of combined experience in men's fashion and lifestyle topics.

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  1. Roman says

    April 10, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    Hi,
    Awesome article, very educational, knowing that these have been quoted by these numerous people with a passion for fashion. Some of these made us chuckle.
    The one that resonates with us is from Iris Apfel:’Fashion you can by, but style you possess….’.
    Here is also one we heard recently and like:’Quantity you can count, quality you can count on’
    Regards.

    Reply

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