Every single day people wake up, make their coffee (or preferred caffeine beverage) then begin their morning routine – one of which is to stare into their closets (and dressers) and try to figure out what to wear for the day ahead.

The world of instagram has created fame for countless individuals; all whom have gathered their following by wearing outrageous styles that have been guided by the likes of their populous. And the cycle continues.

As style continues to reach outrageous peaks, leaving one to often feel behind on what is “stylish” – it is refreshing to pause and look back to the true originals of trend makers and hear their views.

Below are 40 quotes from some of the greatest fashion designers, writers, philosophers, and artists - every quote will change the way you dress. 

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“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” 
― Oscar Wilde

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” 
― Coco Chanel

“In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.” —Elsa Schiaparelli

“When you don’t dress like everyone else, you don’t have to think like everyone else.”
—Iris Apfel

“Trendy is the last stage before tacky.”

– Karl Lagerfeld

“Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without happiness.” – Christian Dior

“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn” 
― Orson Welles

“If a physical overhaul brings more freedom, creativity, and self-worth then the process will add to the person’s depth and happiness. It would be a step closer to realising one’s inestimable worth. If the overhaul doesn’t do that then it is decorating skeletons.” 
― Donna Goddard, Circles of Separation

“It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire… Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone.“

– JAne Austen, Northanger Abbey

“It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire… Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter.” 
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“The way I dress depends on how I feel. I never have to psych myself up. Usually it just feels like it works.” —Rihanna

“Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.” 
― Yves Saint Laurent

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” 
― Coco Chanel

“A woman’s dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.” 
― Sophia Loren

“Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool” 
― Aesop, Aesop’s Fables

“Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.” 
― Coco Chanel

“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” 
― Yves Saint Laurent

No wonder every woman’s first thought is, for nearly every event in her life, be it work, snow or birth. The semi-despairing cry of “but what will I wear?” Because when a woman says I have nothing to wear, what she really means is there is nothing here for who I am supposed to be today.” 

― Caitlin Moran

“At its best fashion is a game. But for women it’s a compulsory game, like net ball, and you can’t get out of it by faking your period. I know I have tried. And so for a woman every outfit is a hopeful spell, cast to influence the outcome of the day. An act of trying to predict your fate, like looking at your horoscope. No wonder there are so many fashion magazines. No wonder the fashion industry is worth an estimated 900 billion dollars a year. No wonder every woman’s first thought is, for nearly every event in her life, be it work, snow or birth. The semi-despairing cry of “but what will I wear?” Because when a woman says I have nothing to wear, what she really means is there is nothing here for who I am supposed to be today.” 
― Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman

“Buy less, choose well & do it yourself!” 
― Vivienne Westwood

“Chic is when a woman is in harmony with herself.”- Giambattista Valli

“Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose.”
—Lauren Hutton

“Elegance is not standing out but being remembered.”—Giorgio Armani

“Clothes aren’t going to change the world. The women who wear them are.”—Anne Klein

“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

“People will stare, make it worth their while.”—Harry Winston

“Who can really say who invents something first in fashion?” – Azzedine Alaïa

“The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress.”—Hubert de Givenchy

“Elegance is not standing out, but being remembered.” —Giorgio Armani

“I like being a woman, even in a man’s world. After all, men can’t wear dresses, but we can wear the pants.”

– Whitney Houston

“The hardest thing in fashion is not to be known for a logo, but to be known for a silhouette.” —Giambattista Valli

“Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.” —Oscar de la Renta

“And, after all, what is a fashion? From the artistic point of view, it is usually a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” 
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

“The stiletto is a feminine weapon that men just don’t have.” 
― Christian Louboutin

“There are people who have money and people who are rich.” 
― Cocco Channel

“The intelligent woman adapts herself to fashion, but never to fad. She knows what is best for her, and her way of life, and sticks to it. She raises and lowers her hemline — with discretion — but she goes on with her timeless dresses made with the basic lines and fabrics that flatter HER, define HER life style. She’s secure, and so she can be an elegant individual.” 

― Joan Crawford, My Way of Life

“Fashion makes you look like you are a mass-produced robot.” 
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“What goes out of fashion passes into everyday life. What disappears from everyday life is revived in fashion.” 
― Jean Baudrillard, Cool Memories

“Style is knowing what suits you, who you are, and what your assets are. It’s excepting it all.” – Bianca Jagger

“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.” – Jean Cocteau

“Never, ever confuse what happens on a runway with fashion. A runway is spectacle. It’s only fashion when a woman puts it on. Being well dressed hasn’t much to do with having good clothes. It’s a question of good balance and good common sense.”

– Oscar de la Renta

Which was your favorite quote? Was there one that you particularly felt more than the others? let me know in the comments below

Wishing you all the best, have fun dressing up today,

xoxoxoxoxo

Belen