Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible Quotes

“We no longer need fur for warmth and protection. There are plenty of textiles that provide that today. It's pure whim and vanity to choose to wear fur. It shows a level of ignorance or lack of concern that reflects poorly on the wearer.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“The message sent by this policy is that if women are to be accepted into the exclusive ranks of men, then they have to look like men: buttoned up, stuffy, and no-nonsense. As if to show a little cleavage, to highlight a curvaceous figure, or to in any way appear feminine would discount, discredit, and disqualify them.

I strongly disagree with this idea. I feel that women should wear clothes that suit their bodies rather than forcing themselves into unflattering men's suits and that it is feminist to make a wide range of women's clothes acceptable business attire.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“Until the sixteenth century, men—priests, academics, judges, merchants, princes, and many others—wore skirts, or robes. For men, the skirt was a 'sign of leisure and a symbol of dignity,' writes Quentin Bell. This is still true for men in high positions. After all, can you imagine the Pope, or Professor Dumbledore, wearing trousers? Have you ever seen a depiction of God wearing pants?”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“This explosion of athletic wear and rompers is very ironic when you think about how much more sedentary we've become. As we've become less active and higher-tech, we're wearing more and more workout clothes.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“In 1916, Infants' and Children's Wear Review insisted upon pink for boys and blue for girls. In 1939, Parents magazine claimed that pink was a good color for boys because it was a pale version of red, which was the color of Mars, the war god. Blue was good for girls because it was the color of Venus, and of the Virgin Mary. So, pink for girls is a relatively recent trend, and utterly random.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“The bulky caveman boot certainly has a modern heir: Uggs. I feel they are aptly named and don't belong in this millennium, but I realize I'm in the minority on that.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“Speaking of high-end shoe designers, in 2011 it was fascinating to see the design company of Christian Louboutin try to stop the company Yves Saint Laurent from producing high heels with red soles, claiming that Louboutin was the originator of the red sole. Louboutin lost, and I was glad. He was not the first person to paint a sole, and I am wary of patenting a color, like Tiffany blue. Why should we grant that entire history to Louboutin and say there are no predecessors and should be no successors?”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“Until the twentieth century, the T-shirt's role was strictly to form a barrier between a man's body and the more valuable clothing he actually wanted the world to see.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“I love the word 'fashion.' That's why I'm using it in the title of this book. Fashion is about change and about creating clothes within a historical context. To me, dismissing fashion as silly or unimportant seems like a denial of history and frequently a show of sexism—as if something that's traditionally a concern of women isn't valid as a field of academic inquiry. When the Parsons fashion department was founded in 1906, it was called 'costume design,' because fashion was then a verb: to fashion. But the word 'fashion' has evolved to mean something much more profound, and those who resist it seem to me to be on the wrong side of history.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“Borrowing from cultures without understanding the fundamentals can yield some pretty weird and wholly illogical perversions.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet

“Whether they come from Brooks Brothers or a thrift store, the sweaters we wear have a magnificent ancestry. Their history spans the worlds of Irish fishermen, French knights, World War I soldiers, busty Hollywood 'sweater girls,' and the television saint Mr. Rogers. That history lives in each garment. By being aware of it, we can better appreciate what we have.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“A T-shirt is a T-shirt. Spending hundreds of dollars on it doesn't elevate it. He was under-dressed, even if his casual outfit did cost more than my suit and tie.

I once had another fashion victim tell me, 'This T-shirt cost twelve thousand dollars!'

What difference does that make? If that's the message you want to send about yourself and your fashion sense, you should wear the price tag, or that should be the message on your T-shirt: 'Hi. This T-shirt costs more than a semester of college.' Or: 'Hi. I have money to burn. Please help me get rid of all this wealth.' And my shirt, in turn, would say, 'Great. Please write a $12,000 check to charity.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“But when (as will inevitably happen) mature women are again seen as sexy, it’s likely that the maxi and midi will make their triumphant return as sexy garments. Fashion”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet

“In my typical way, I declined to respond, saying that I didn't want anyone to run to a store just because I endorsed a trend. Besides, a trend is good only if it works for you, your wardrobe, and your lifestyle.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“Fashion models today are so different from the women buying the clothes. That has not always been the case. If you look at issues of ‘Vogue’ or other fashion magazines from the 1950s, you’ll see models in possession of womanly (albeit spectacular) bodies and expressive, mature faces. Star models typically were over thirty, and they had curves. They just looked like extraglamorous versions of the women buying the dresses.
It almost seems shocking now, when models are all in their teens and look as though they’re playing dress up. In 2011 there was a cover of French ‘Vogue’ featuring a ten-year-old model. Ten years old! Did she look ten? No, she looked twenty-five! What does that say to young people? I worry about the pressure this puts on teenagers and tweens.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“All over America, you see women in yoga pants and men in sweatpants, even when they are not on their way to or from a yoga class or softball field. When I fly, I see so many sweat suits – even pajamas – on my fellow travelers that it’s as though the airplane were the sleeper car of a train bound for summer camp or a gym in the sky, not a public space for business people and vacationers.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“So what’s the rule of thumb? Some say you should always match your socks to your shoes. Others say you should always match your socks to your pants. The correct answer is pants. And so in the case of jeans and brown shoes, I would go with navy socks.
One note on sock-and-pant etiquette: if you’re wearing socks with dress pants, you should reveal no leg skin. It’s like a bare midriff: you don’t want to see it. It’s different if you’re wearing shoes without socks, which is fine in casual settings.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“Harem pants, one of the most costumey looks of the 1980s, sport a dropped crotch, which to me suggests you are wearing a diaper Do any of us think that’s a good look?”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“The wrap dress is a very flattering style on any body type. You just need to make sure you fit the shoulders, and the rest of the dress takes care of itself. It makes women look feminine, pulled together, and at ease in the world.
I encourage all women who are trying to update their work wardrobes to invest in a couple of flattering wrap dresses. It’s easy, one-step-dressing: it travels well, and it’s easy to care for. With a wrap dress and heels – a complete outfit that can fit in the average purse – you’re all set for a business meeting or dinner date.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“I’ll wear a graphic tee that says: ‘AIDS Walk,’ when I’m on the AIDS Walk. But generally graphic tees are for the young – and I’m not talking about the young at heart.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“American fashion designers are doing so much in spite of severe disadvantages in the global fashion world. First of all, they have always needed to make money from their work. They’re not subsidized by the textile mills, as the French are. And they haven’t enjoyed any of the design piracy protections that exist in Europe. It’s hard to be a designer in America! It takes a lot of courage and feistiness. In short: up with America; up with fashion. If I never get invited back to Europe, or to another conference on structural garment design, I can live with that.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“I am especially concerned that American fashion not be forgotten. Once, I met the head of a hot design school in the Netherlands, and she expressed nothing but contempt for American design – an attitude I find very offensive when espoused by Europeans and downright tragic when held by Americans. When I look through ‘Project Runway’ applications, I am always struck by how few American designers are cited in their influences section. Invariably, the only designers they name are Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, and Coco Chanel – often misspelled ‘Channel.’ You only rarely see American designers listed. If you do, it’s usually Donna Karan. (I don’t understand why people don’t write Michael Kors – even just in their own political self-interest.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

“The color, the shape, and the texture—none of it is accidental. Every item we wear has a glorious (or sometimes not so glorious) history, and that history extends back years—centuries, even—before Oscar de la Renta's 2002 collection.”
― Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible