None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
We worship not the Graces, nor the Parcae, but Fashion. She spins and weaves and cuts with full authority. The head monkey at Paris puts on a traveler's cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques society's blind adherence to fashion trends and the imitative nature of culture.
Henry David Thoreau's quote reflects on how society reveres fashion over true values, suggesting that people replicate trends without question, much like monkeys mimicking a leader. It highlights the absurdity of following superficial trends dictated by authority, emphasizing a loss of individuality in favor of conformity to fleeting styles.
Themes
FashionSocietyConformityTrendsIndividuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a fashion seminar to discuss the impact of societal norms on personal style.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes →Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
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Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
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As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
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That grand old poem called Winter
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