Sure, reading FashionBeans will arm you with enough fashion knowledge to pass your end-of-season exam, but if you’re the fashion guru among your peer group, the kind of person who sets the agenda and dress code for everything from the business-casual office to multi-day getaways in Ibiza, you might quickly run out of trendy pearls of wisdom.
If so, take a deep breath: here’s a roundup of our favorite fashion quotes for men, all of which you can recite as your own after a few beers at your local joint.
1. “Shoes change your body language and your attitude. They elevate you physically and mentally.” — Christian Louboutin
2. “Tell yourself: Nobody grew up like you. You design who you are.” — Jay-Z
3. “Fashion is what you adopt when you don’t know who you are.” — Quentin Crisp
4. “To achieve the indifference which is absolutely necessary for manliness, at least one thing must be in agreement.” — Hardy Amis
5. “Being perfectly groomed brings a serenity that no religion can give.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
6. “When people turn to look at you on the street, they see that you’re not dressed properly, but rather too stiff, too cramped, or too fashionable.” — Beau Brummell
7. “Wear a tie when you ask someone for money.” — Unknown
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8. “People always ask me what trends are, but I don’t believe in trends. For me it’s more about individuality. Standing out and having the confidence to wear clothes that you’re comfortable in is what comes naturally to me. I’m comfortable in a suit.” — David Gandy
9. “Fashion is what designers give you four times a year. Style is what you choose.” — Lauren Hutton
10. “Fashion is a playground until a certain age, but after that you have to find your own signature and style.” — Nicolas Ghesquière
11. “Clothes mean nothing until someone wears them.” — Marc Jacobs
12. “Fashion is more about feeling than science.” — Pharrell Williams
13. “As you get older, it’s so important to take care of your appearance and take steps to stay happy with it. Taking care of your grooming, whether it’s just using a moisturizer or getting a thorough treatment at the salon, can make the difference you need.” — Saif Ali Khan
14. “Style is knowing who you are, what you have to say, and not caring.” — Orson Welles
15. “Fashion fades, but style lasts forever.” — Yves Saint Laurent
16. “Every man should have a magnifying glass. If he looks good in it, he’s ready to go.” — Tom Ford
17. “People stare. Make it worth looking at.” — Harry Winston
18. “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness just didn’t know where to shop.” — Bo Derek
19. “We define metrosexual as someone who really takes care of themselves when it comes to grooming and style. There’s nothing wrong with that. But I think you need other values too. It’s cool to incorporate traditional values into metrosexuality. That makes it a good lifestyle.” — Frank Vincent
20. “Elegance is being noticed without trying to be noticed.” — Luciano Barbera
21. “I like nice clothes, whether they’re questionable or not.” — David Beckham
22. “Develop your own visual style; something that is unique to you, yet recognizable to others.” — Orson Welles
23. “A well-dressed man is one whose clothes go unnoticed.” — William Somerset Maugham
24. “Keep it simple, but keep it meaningful.” — Don Draper
25. “The difference between style and fashion is quality.” — Giorgio Armani
26. “Dirt makes a man look manly. Let your hair fly. When you need to look good, look good.” — Hedy Lamarr
27. “Music has shaped men’s fashion, replacing equestrian and military traditions with playful and witty ways. It’s hard to tell who’s in charge, but music and fashion are genetically linked.” — Hedi Slimane
28. “If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better.” — Anna Wintour
29. “Fashion should be a form of escape, not a form of confinement.” — Alexander McQueen
30. “Elegance is not about being conspicuous, but about being memorable.” — Giorgio Armani
31. “I often take a new suit or hat and throw it against the wall a few times to bring out its hard, square new look.” — Fred Astaire
32. “People say, ‘How can you care so much about fashion when you want to help the world?’ It’s illegal to be naked. It’s vitally important.” — Kanye West
33. “A beautifully designed suit makes me feel good, makes me feel more self-aware, and defines me as a man who cares about detail.” — Gay Talese
34. “You don’t find your style, your style finds you.” — Keith Richards
35. “My style is black and expensive.” — Mark Healy
36. “Dress as if you’ve accomplished something in the world, even if you haven’t.” — Unknown
37. “Hair first. Teeth second. Hair and teeth. If a man has those two, he has everything.” — James Brown
38. “An epidemic is nothing but an induced epidemic.” — George Bernard Shaw
39. “Don’t be swayed by trends. Don’t let fashion control you. You decide who you are and what you want to express through the way you dress and the way you live.” — Gianni Versace
40. “Looking good is a matter of self-worth, not self-importance.” — Charles Hicks
41. “Anyone can dress up, but what’s most interesting is what people wear on their days off.” — Alexander Wang
42. “I think in black.” — Gareth Pugh
43. “Anyone with a lot of hair is confident, but a confident bald man is a diamond in the rough.” – Larry David
44. “Another reason to dress well is that dogs will respect it and will not attack you if you are well dressed.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
45. “A man should buy his clothes wisely, wear them well, and then seem to forget about them.” — Hardy Amis
46. ”A man with style is great because he has a sense of self.” — Lexa Doig
47. “Clothes make the man. A naked man has little or no influence in society.” — Mark Twain
48. “All you need is a few simple outfits. And here’s the secret: the simpler the better.” – Cary Grant
49. “Style is primarily a matter of instinct.” — Bill Blass
50. “You can travel around the world wearing just three outfits: a blue blazer and gray flannel pants, or a gray flannel suit and a black tie.” — Pierre Cardin
51. “To a man of spirit is hell to have a tailor disagree with him.” — Richard Garnett
52. “Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but eagerly follows the new.” — Henry David Thoreau
53. “Style is the answer to everything. A fresh way to approach something boring or risky. Doing something boring with style is better than doing something risky without style. Doing something risky with style is what I call art.” — Charles Bukowski
54. “A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” — Oscar Wilde
55. “The style of calculated nonchalance is the psychological triumph of elegance over order.” — G. Bruce Boyer
56. “Some of the worst mistakes I’ve made in my life have been haircuts.” — Jim Morrison
57. “Fashion is so ugly that it must be changed every six months.” — Oscar Wilde
58. “Dress and manners do not make the man, but if they do, they greatly enhance his appearance.” — Arthur Ashe
59. “I don’t design clothes. I design dreams.” — Ralph Lauren
60. “Fashion is an art. What you wear expresses who you are.” — Daniele Donato
61. “Style is looking like you’re leading the parade when people are trying to run you out of town.” — William Batty
62. “Your signature fragrance should be appropriate for the occasion, not overpowering.” — David Beckham
63. “Never wear anything that will make your cat panic.” — PJ O’Rourke
64. “Grooming is essential, and perfect style is essential. If you don’t look the part, no one is going to want to spend their time or money on you.” — Daymond John
65. “Style is a way of communicating who you are without using words.” — Rachel Zoe
66. “Fashion isn’t always about labels. It’s not always about brands. It’s about something that comes from inside of you.” — Ralph Lauren
67. “A well-tailored suit is to a woman what lingerie is to a man.” — Unknown
68. “It is delusional and foolish to think that clothing doesn’t matter and that we can just wear whatever we like. Most people don’t take their clothing very seriously, but whether they do or not, clothing speaks to us and we make decisions based on a person’s appearance.” — G. Bruce Boyer
69. “A good lather is half the shave.” — William Horne
70. “Buy less and choose better.” — Vivienne Westwood
71. “You can never be too well-dressed or too educated.” — Oscar Wilde
72. “Go to a real barbershop and get the old-fashioned hot towel experience. Sit down and get your hands massaged while you shave? There’s nothing wrong with that.” — Justin Timberlake
73. “Style is the perfection of perspective.” — Richard Eberhart
74. “Fashion is what you buy. Style is what you do with it.” — Unknown
75. “How we dress influences the way we think, feel, act, and how others react to us.” — Julie Rathband
76. “Dressing well is a sign of politeness.” — Tom Ford
77. “To me, clothing is a form of self-expression. What you wear holds a secret about who you are.” – Marc Jacobs
78. “First know who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.” — Epictetus
79. “Like every good man, I strive for perfection. And like every normal man, I know that perfection is out of reach. But the perfect suit is not.” – Edward Tivenan
80. “Most men look better in a belted trench coat.” — Sidney J. Harris
81. “Men say I saved their marriages. Shoes cost a lot of money, but it’s cheaper than getting divorced.” — Manolo Blahnik
82. “Even on the most solemn occasions I wore no stockings, hiding my uncivilized behavior with high boots.” — Albert Einstein
83. “The best thing you can do for your skin is to not smoke, always wear sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.” — Sela Ward
84. “Black is both modest and haughty at the same time. Black is lazy and carefree, but also mysterious. But above all, black says: ‘I won’t bother you. Don’t bother me.'” — Yohji Yamamoto
85. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo da Vinci
