I was sometimes embarrassed about making it - people look at you in a different way. You become this rich guy with the house. I wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's, but I've sometimes felt set apart from the people I work with. They think, "You're rich - you don't have problems."

I was very influenced by movies; I was very influenced by a world that had a sense of dream.

I have always loved things that are timeless and get better with age.

I went to my boss, and I said, 'Look, I'd like to design these ties because I think they could be new.' He said, 'The world isn't ready for Ralph Lauren.' I never forgot that because... I thought that was a compliment.

Sometimes when I walk into one of my own stores, I look at the display and say, "This looks so good - I want to buy it." Yet other times I walk in and the displays and mannequins will be all wrong, and I don't want to buy anything. When a customer walks into a store, she's looking for inspiration. So I'm tuned in to people, and I care about what they need and who they are.

I have always done what I love myself. My philosophy was that I never had focus groups. I did what I wear.

We all have to fight to maintain our unique style and taste in a world that would have us conform.