Imelda Marcos Quotes

People say I'm extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage?

I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.

Filipinos want beauty. I have to look beautiful so that the poor Filipinos will have a star to look at from their slums.

It is not expensive to be beautiful. It takes only a little effort to be presentable and beautiful. But it takes some effort. And unfortunately people think of beauty as luxury, beauty as frivolity, ... or extravagance. Beauty is a discipline, beauty is art, is harmony, in the ideological sense and in the theological sense, beauty is God and love made real. And the ultimate reach in this world is beauty.

They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes.

If you know how rich you are, you are not rich. But me, I am not aware of the extent of my wealth. That's how rich we are.

I have never been a material girl. My father always told me never to love anything that cannot love you back.

Doesn't the fight for survival also justify swindle and theft? In self defence, anything goes.

If the shoe fits, buy it.

Win or lose, we go shopping after the election.

I am beyond logic and rationality.

In the material world, where everything is valued, when you commit yourself to God, beauty and love, it can be mistaken for extravagance.

Beauty is not extravagance; beauty is life.

I hate ugliness. You know I'm allergic to ugliness.

I really had no great love for shoes. I was a working First Lady; I was always in canvas shoes. I did nurture the shoes industry of the Philippines, and so every time there was a shoe fair, I would receive a pair of shoes as a token of gratitude.

Perception is real, truth is not. I'm not fighting for money and possessions. I'm fighting for something more precious. I pray that as we enter the cyber age -- the Age of Transparency -- the facts and the truth will out.

The Marcos era was the golden time for the Philippines. We had the lowest crime rate in the world in Manila and real development then. At last, people are starting to understand this.

Never dress down for the poor. They won't respect you for it. They want their First Lady to look like a million dollars.

It is shallow people who think beauty is frivolous or excessive. If you are bringing beauty and god, you are enriching the country. Rice feeds the body, books feed the mind, beauty feeds the soul. It is one thing I can really be proud of and stand tall in the world.

I do not have 3,000 pairs of shoes, I have 1,060.

The problems with First Ladies is that you have to set the standard. My role is to be both star and slave.

It is terribly important to do certain things, such as wear overembroidered dresses. After all, the mass follows class. Class never follows mass.

Our opponent [Cory Aquino] does not put on any make up. She does not have her fingernails manicured. You know gays. They are for beauty. Filipinos who like beauty, love and God are for Marcos.

If you know how much you've got, you probably haven't got much.

I am my little people's star and slave. When I go out into the barrios, I get dressed because I know my little people want to see a star. Other presidents' wives have gone to the barrios wearing house dresses and slippers. That's not what people want to see. People want someone they can love, someone to set an example.