We often hear fables of rags to riches. But here, we have a gem of a creator who fought obstacles and became one of the most stylish men on Earth. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the iconic Ralph Lauren, whose work has inspired years and years of fashion. For someone with a high school diploma and only the power of a few dreams, the climb has been tough. So we have brought to you the most inspirational quotes by Ralph Lauren (a college dropout no less) that can give you that push you’ve been looking for. Remember, start small.
1. “I never went to fashion school. I didn’t know what a designer was. I knew I had something, but I didn’t know what it was. And it could just have easily been nothing.”
Lauren goes on about the importance of dreaming and using that dream to influence your work.
2. “People ask how can a Jewish kid from the Bronx do preppy clothes? Does it have to do with class and money? It has to do with dreams.”
And, like most of us, lots of inspiration for our dreams came from the silver screen.
3. “I was very influenced by movies; I was very influenced by a world that had a sense of dream.”
One of the most important things is to value the work that you do.
4. “The clothes that I design and everything I’ve done is about life and how people live and how they want to live and how they dream they’ll live. That’s what I do.”
Even Kanye has appreciated and praised the dedication of Lauren.
5. “If I were to cater to Kanye, he would know that I’m catering to him. The fact that I make what I make—he gets it. He gets the quality and he respects it. And I think that’s the key, why I work all the time is to do that. That’s the fun.”
Even if it is a tiny stroke of brush, your principles should drive you. It’s about the bigger picture.
6. “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.”
Ralph Lauren believes in consistency. You must be consistent in your ideals; that will shine through everything you do.
7. “Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.”
Style is sustainable and unique. It does not change like the fickle-minded catwalks every year.
8. “[It’s] not one thing this year, one thing another year.”
Where we think of changing our outfits every single day, Ralph Lauren was not above repeating designs.
9. “I’ve always done the style that I loved, so I didn’t mind sending an old pair of jeans down the runway.”
The pioneer in making style everlasting has a great tip on having a distinct and fresh personal style. And even better, how to cultivate it.
10. “Taste and style is beyond clothes. It’s in food; it’s in quality. Working out, healthy bodies, organic food—they’re all part of the same thing.”
Look inside yourself for that daily stylespiration and not at Pinterest. Ralph Lauren is here to help you.
11. “Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.”
So style is an intrinsic part of you. It is about how you carry yourself and your esteem. It does not come only through clothes.
12. “Personal style is about having a sense of yourself and what you believe in every day.”
Though he started working with men’s fashion, he is insightful about how women should style themselves.
13. “It’s the kind of clothes that mothers and daughters can wear, in terms of concept … It’s not about age. It’s about taste, and it’s about lifestyle. I believe women of all ages can wear anything.”
Well, that is your green light for androgynous fashion.
14. “I started in the men’s business, so I always sort of have a touch of menswear in terms of where I’m going, … And I think one of the sexiest looks for women, instead of wearing a low cut thing, sometimes a man’s suit is more.”
Being humble is the best you can be, but also believe that you can make something extraordinary.
15. “You have to create something from nothing.”
Remember the words of discouragement from your past and turn them into compliments.
16. “He said, ‘The world isn’t ready for Ralph Lauren.’ I never forgot that because…I thought that was a compliment.”
You have to not only have passion but also the hunger to excel in whatever you choose to do.
17. “Knowledge is not a passion from without the mind, but an active exertion of the inward strength, vigor and power of the mind, displaying itself from within.”
And lastly, Ralph Lauren asks to be able to live life in the best way possible, since,
18. “The world is open to us, and each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.”
Cameras can preserve our memories. And libraries collect them. Make your life an emblem of both.
19. “My eyes are on my life. They are my private camera. I extend all the experience from my private life into my work, because living is my library.”
Remember, it is all in the effort of living and recording a life that makes little and big changes. In style, living, and loving.
20. “It’s about living the best life you can and enjoying the fullness of the life around you—from what you wear, to the way you live, to the way you love.”
Ralph Lauren was a school dropout and worked as a salesman of ties. With such humble beginnings and such eventual success, what is stopping us from having the motivation to make something beautiful out of our lives?
