Classic Design Quotes

Fashion fades, only style remains the same.

I'm a fan of Adidas Originals. I love their Stan Smith collection.

Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.

Since Brooks Brothers is a 189-year-old company, there are plenty of references and inspirations I can draw from their archives and catalogs. The wearer of Black Fleece may not be all that different from mine, in that I imagine that it would be someone who is a true individual, and independent thinker. This is for both men and women.

I believe in style, not fashion.

When I'm interviewing somebody, I take notes with a Bic Cristal, the classic black-cap, clear-body, medium-weight pen. It works on many levels: You can chew the cap, and if you're really bored, you can bite the end off the back.

As a technology, the book is like a hammer. That is to say, it is perfect: a tool ideally suited to its task. Hammers can be tweaked and varied but will never go obsolete. Even when builders pound nails by the thousand with pneumatic nail guns, every household needs a hammer.

Generally speaking, I'm a jeans, T-shirt and boots man but I do own an Armani suit, which gets a regular outing. It's nothing fancy - just a classic, well-cut suit with clean lines and beautiful tailoring. It's timeless and you can mix and match it with anything to dress up or dress down.

If I could wear any label forever it would be Burberry. It covers a huge span of stuff. You can't go wrong with a classic trench and a pair of jeans.

I've been wearing Reebok my whole life.

My inspiration for interior design is more historical than traditional.

I'm trying to not follow fashion. I don't even like the word. But I do like clothes, and I like nicely cut clothes that last and that are built to be worn for the next 30 years.

We never pull down the quality of the product, and I think that pays in the long term. People come up to me and say, 'I'm still wearing a Missoni sweater from 30 years ago, and it still looks great.' So quality, specificity and passion.

I discovered that I never really used Helvetica but I like to look at it. I like the VW beetle, too, although I've never driven one.

I'm so in love with Chanel's perfume bottles. I grew up seeing my mom use Chanel No. 5, so it's quite sentimental to me.

I don't personally follow trends; I don't even like the idea of trends. I think it's kind of absurd that you have to change every six months, so I always try and buy things that hopefully I'll like forever, and resonate with me.

Personally, I'm very classic. If I'm going to wear a suit, it's going to be classic, black, and fit very well. There's nothing like it.

I like cluttered, old, dark-wood antiques. I like character.

I love that Cadillac ATS!

Gap was essentially the American wardrobe that was well-priced, and it was attractive, and it was happy, and it had great color, and it has jeans, and I think we did the same with Old Navy. And I think we do the same with J.Crew at a much higher level, Madewell at another level.

Polka dots are fabulous.

I've been around since 1985. When the Jordan shoe came out.

The best investment would be a Monika Chiang handbag. Her stuff is so on point. Her pieces are really classic, sophisticated, expensive-looking and they're just chic.

Fashion only seems to make sense if it's rooted in some dimension of history or if it feels like a continuation of an idea.

It is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new.