Christian Dior

You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes. Too many women think that they are unimportant, but the real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet.

Elegance must be the right combination of distinction, naturalness, care and simplicity. Outside this, believe me, there is no elegance. Only pretension.

Women, with their sure instincts, realized that my intention was to make them not just more beautiful but also happier.

Without foundations, there can be no fashion.

All I required to be happy was friendship and people I could admire.

Finally, everything that has been part of my life, whether I wanted it to or not, has expressed itself in my dresses.

We were emerging from the period of war, of uniforms, of women-soldiers built like boxers. I drew women-flowers, soft shoulders, fine waists like liana and wide skirts like corolla.

Perfume is a mark of female identity and the final touch of her style

A dress is a piece of ephemeral architecture, designed to enhance the proportions of the female body.

Make me a fragrance that smells like love

Grooming is the secret of real elegance. The best clothes, the most wonderful jewels, the most glamorous beauty don't count without good grooming.

Long after one has forgotten what a woman wore, the memory of her perfume lingers.

Colour is what gives jewels their worth. They light up and enhance the face. Nothing is more elegant than a black skirt and sweater worn with a sparkling multi-stoned necklace.

You can wear black in any moment of the day, no matter your age. You can wear black with almost any occasion. A black dress is essential for every woman.

Black and white might be sufficient. But why deprive yourself of color.

Real elegance is everywhere, especially in the things that don't show.

My weakness ... is architecture. I think of my work as ephemeral architecture, dedicated to the beauty of the female body.

Simplicity, good taste and grooming are the three fundamentals of good dressing and these do not cost money.

In a machine age, dressmaking is one of the last refuges of the human, the personal, the inimitable.

By being natural and sincere, one often can create revolutions without having sought them.