The late Estee Lauder says you can never wear white shoes after Labor Day. But of course, in today's world, that does not exist.

One my favorite things is to go to the provinces of Russia and see the 18th century wood churches with the onion dome architecture. These humble wonders of incredible imagination of architects that were obviously not living in places like Paris or London, but they've created these amazing churches.

The happiest moments of my childhood were spent on my grandmother's front porch in Durham, N.C., or at her sister's farmhouse in Orange County, where chickens paraded outside the kitchen's screen door and hams were cured in the smokehouse.

The late Estee Lauder says you can never wear white shoes after Labor Day. But of course, in today's world, that does not exist.

When I have interns, I always say, 'Handwritten thank-you notes can make a difference.' People remember that - not an e-mail, a handwritten note in an envelope.

People love fashion exhibits because they can fantasize. They can respond to a dress even if they can never wear a dress like that.

When I was a young boy, growing up in Durham, North Carolina, the women in my family were truly passionate about their clothes; nothing was more beautiful to me than women dressing with the utmost, meticulous attention to accessories, shoes, handbags, hats, coats, dresses and gloves to attend Sunday church services.