Tim Gunn Quotes - Page 4

My role as the chair of the fashion department at Parsons put me face to face with all the big designers, retailers, and editors. Since I was moving in these new circles regularly, I realized I needed to do something about my own personal style. It was really Diane von Furstenberg who gave me the nudge.

And Brooke Elliott is a great actress.

I always say I have a Socratic approach to most things that I do. I pummel people with questions, because I need to know what they're thinking, what they're trying to achieve, what they believe the final outcome is going to be.

May I respond by merely saying, "I hate crocs. May they please go away."

I'm constantly reminding myself that the world owes us nothing. We have to make our way and we have to work hard, persevere and make our own way in the world because the world isn't waiting for us, so let's let the world know we are here.

When it comes to Project Runway, for me the most memorable look ever presented goes back to season one, episode one, when Austin Scarlett created a ravishing cocktail dress out of cornhusks. It was really amazing.

In a manner of speaking. I certainly never want to lose my voice as an educator.

My advice to the 10 year old daughter is: fashion happens in a context. It's societal, it's cultural, it's historic, it's economic, and it's political. So all of her studies, everything that is happening in the world, all needs to be channeled through her in order to be a good designer.

I believe in letting karma do its thing. What comes around goes around.

I learned from teaching. If you are perceived by the student to be belittling them or purely criticizing them without offering up words of encouragement and support, they shut down and discredit you.

I'm much more of a Leo than I am a Cancer.

It was very challenging to mentor the mentors, and yes, you do see more sides of my personality.

Whether it's fashion or it's home, it's all about style. The clothes we wear send a message about how we are perceived, and our home does the same thing.

When I'm working in the real world with real women and we're shopping, we find that fashion seems to end when you get any larger than a size 12. How ridiculous is that?

My manners also came from when I was in college and began participating in critiques. You have to speak with someone respectfully about their work and be honest and open, without hurting them.

What's interesting about textiles is that they are determined about three seasons in advance, that's why when you walk into a store you think "Gee, everything looks about the same."

I'm doing all that I can to prod the industry and get them to pay more attention [to larger women and petite women]. Because I find it to be reprehensible and repugnant that two populations that are so pervasive in this nation should be so badly neglected.

I'm really not a trend promoter because I feel that people push trends on people they shouldn't.

I don't believe in the scraping of stuff. Take the existing condition, offer up a diagnosis for what's wrong, and a prescription for making it work.

I would say this to my students all the time, it's about 30% you as the teacher and 70% about them. They tend to think that their role is to be the baby bird in a nest and you're going to feed them? They're going to feed themselves, or they're going to starve.

I believe women do the best womenswear.

It's man's impact on our world that appeals to me more than just nature running wild.

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.

If you're wearing a jacket, as I always am, the sweater vest always needs to be buttoned, with the exception of the bottom button. But if you're going sans jacket, you can leave it open.

I don't know if people have gotten ruder or if my tolerance level has declined.