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Inspiration that fits any style
Every man has his own style and way of choosing what to wear. This fact is made evident in reading men’s style and fashion quotes from different icons throughout the decades, and even centuries.
Some take a classic, traditional tone. Others focus on staples that make them look good and feel confident, or they favor functionality and comfort. Some opt for the understated look, while others seek to make a bold statement with their clothing choices.
Wherever one may find himself on the spectrum of men’s fashion today, he is sure to resonate with several quotes in our selection of statements on menswear from designers, keen observers of style, and celebrities known for having a spot on pulse on fashion.
On the timelessness of fashion:
“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” —Yves Saint Laurent
“So what I believe in is this timelessness of some of these things. The timelessness of an attitude. The timelessness of an old tweed jacket and suede elbow patches.” —Ralph Lauren
“Vintage is my vocabulary… like the notes of a musician.” —Alessandro Michele, Gucci designer
“Black is always elegant. It is the most complete colour in the whole world, made of all the colours in the palette.” —Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy and Burberry designer
“I love the English aesthetic; in a way, I feel it is close to my own, a beautiful chaos; it is a powerful mix of the past and the present.” —Alessandro Michele
“Being trendy is dangerous. I’ve never been trendy, which is why I’ve never really fallen out of favour.” —David Bailey, fashion photographer
“If fashion is good, it has no epoch.” —Hubert de Givenchy
“I don’t follow fashion so much as I try to find clothes that make me look good. Because that never goes out of style.” —Muhammad Ali
On appearances:
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” —Oscar Wilde
“I like when a man has one strong accessory. If it’s a watch, it has to be major. If you have strong shoes, it should just be the shoes. I don’t like when a man is overdone-that’s just bad taste. Coco Chanel was always saying you have to watch yourself in the mirror, put on a lot of things, and then take them off. I think it should be that way for men as well.” —Riccardo Tisci
“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.” —Arthur Ashe
“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, fashion editor
“Any man may be in good spirits and good temper when he’s well dressed. There ain’t much credit in that.” —Charles Dickens
“Anyone can get dressed up and glamorous, but it is how people dress in their days off that are the most intriguing.” — Alexander Wang
“Dress like you own the bank. Not like you need a loan from it.” —Louis Raphael
“British men are peacocks. You see a lot more style on the streets here than you see anywhere else, on every level.” —Tom Ford
“For me, my way to think about everything in fashion is a very baroque way.” —Alessandro Michele
On personal style:
“Know first who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.” —Epictetus
“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” —Orson Welles
“You don’t find a style. A style finds you.” —Keith Richards
“Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.” —Oscar de la Renta
“Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.” —Ralph Lauren
“Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.” —Gianni Versace
“Fashion can be bought by anybody; style takes discernment, it has to do with individuality.” —Bill Blass
“I’m not really into style. I’m more into confidence or having something to say.” —Virgil Abloh, Off-White and Louis Vuitton designer
“To me, graphic T-shirts are the most important and most expressive format for a designer or a person. Your taste in graphic tees says a lot about your point of view.” —Virgil Abloh
“You can wear some of the weirdest things and be cool. If you believe in it, that’s what makes it cool.” —Andre 3000
On a deeper level:
“Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.” —Marc Jacobs
“I don’t design clothes. I design dreams.” —Ralph Lauren
“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” —Bill Cunningham, fashion photographer
“Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse.” —Francis Bacon
“For me, reworking the past over and over again is a way not to trivialize the garments and not to obsess over hem lengths. What I am interested in, as a matter of fact, is telling a story and, if someone sees fragments of other stories in it, be my guest. I don’t have to justify myself. What is urgent for me is what I want to say.” —Alessandro Michele
“Dressing is a way of life.” —Yves Saint Laurent
On a lighter note:
“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 Brummell, Regency era influencer
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” —Mark Twain
“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
“A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” —Oscar Wilde
“There is one other reason for dressing well, namely that dogs respect it, and will not attack you in good clothes.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
“A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.” —Tom Ford
“The day when everyone is very, very elegant, I will start to go around dressed like a tramp.” —Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor
On evolving fashion:
“There has been a change in men’s attitudes toward their clothes. Men are more aware of fashion; they’re not afraid of it.” —Calvin Klein
“I don’t have to choose between high fashion or streetwear. My brand reminds me that it doesn’t have to fit in a box. It can just be in a gray area.” —Virgil Abloh
“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, English journalist
“British people still wear clothes. By clothes I mean actual clothes: jackets and shirts and ties and suits. The spirit of Beau Brummell is still visible. English men make an effort. We’ve lost that in the US. Everyone is more concerned with being comfortable.” —Tom Ford
On effortlessness:
“A man should look as if he has bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them.” —Hardy Amies
“The well-dressed man is he whose clothes you never notice.” —William Somerset Maugham
“To attain style in dress, you must look perfectly happy and relaxed in your clothes which must appear part of you rather than a wardrobe you have just donned.” —Hardy Amies
“All it takes are a few simple outfits. And there’s one secret – the simpler the better.” —Cary Grant
“A man should dress in a way that you don’t notice. He looks good and you don’t know why. But it’s the tailoring, the materials, and the clothes.” —Michael Caine
“My father used to say, ‘Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary.’” —Cary Grant
