Why do you put your self esteem in the hands of complete strangers?
Helena Bonham CarterRead
Wear what you feel comfortable with. People say nasty things about what I wear in the street. I'm always in worst dressed lists, but you just have to dress for yourself and nobody else.
Interpretation
This quote encourages individuals to wear what makes them feel comfortable, regardless of others' opinions.
Helena Bonham Carter's quote emphasizes the importance of self-expression through clothing choices. Despite facing criticism and being labeled poorly in fashion circles, she advocates for personal comfort and authenticity over conforming to societal standards. The underlying message is to prioritize one's own feelings about fashion rather than succumb to external judgments.
In practice
During a fashion seminar, I shared this quote to inspire young designers to focus on comfort in their designs.
Why do you put your self esteem in the hands of complete strangers?
Sometimes I get it right and I sometimes I get it wrong. But fashion is all about having fun. I think fashion has been hijacked by the fashion industry creating rules on what one should wear and I feel like breaking the mold and seeing that the world won’t crumble.
I just went and got an agent because I thought I can create my own world - you can't right your own life, but you can escape to a world where you can have control.
Sometimes I go, “What am I doing with my life?” But then I get letters from young women, or people come up to me, and they say, “You’ve made such a difference to my confidence.” And that is a good thing. I should read more fan mail though. I’m crap at responding.
My life had been very work-orientated, and all in close-up. Once I had the family, it went into sudden widescreen.
Very early on, you figure out that you put your self-esteem in the hands of strangers. There's a different commodity. There's the Helena Bonham Carter that everyone thinks they know, who really has nothing to do with me. But you just have to let that go.
All it takes are a few simple outfits. And there's one secret - The Simpler The Better
In Italy they take cheap cloth and make it look expensive, but I take expensive cloth and make it look cheap. They just don't understand.
It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.
Fashion condemns us to many follies, the greatest is to make oneself its slave.
I've had my own moments in front of designers when I've actually said, 'You know, there's a market here for expanding your work, and here it is. And frankly, there are two markets: The women who are larger than the 12, and then there are women who are petite. And most designers that I talk to have absolutely no interest in addressing either of those populations, which I find repugnant.
I'm not a fashion victim, and I don't closely follow trends. I dress the way I feel comfortable because, at the end of the day, you have to be comfortable.
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