Elegance is innate. It has nothing to do with being well dressed. Elegance is refusal.

Naturally, I’ve always been mad about clothes. You don’t get born in Paris to forget about clothes for a minute.

I was always sort of a loner, I suppose. I always had to think out everything for myself... I suppose that is what you call a loner.

Pink is the navy blue of India.

A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste-it's hearty, it's healthy, it's physical. I think we could use more of it. No taste is what I'm against.

The two greatest mannequins of the century were Gertrude Stein and Edith Sitwell - unquestionably. You just couldn't take a bad picture of those two old girls

One is born with good taste. It's very hard to acquire. You can acquire the patina of taste. But what Elsie Mendl had was something else that's particularly American––an appreciation of vulgarity. Vulgarity is a very important ingredient in life. I'm a great believer in vulgarity––if it's got vitality. A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste––it's hearty, it's healthy, it's physical. I think we could use more of it. No taste is what I'm against.