I was talking to Donna Karan at an event and she said, "You know, Ralph, I still don't feel rich."

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

I never had a preconceived plan. When you go to a movie and watch someone in the role of his or her life, or when the chairman of the board comes into the room wearing a cool look, it remains in your mind. I love Cary Grant because I like the roles he played. I said, "I want to be that guy." I want to be funny, suave, and a good athlete. I don't have to do a focus group to know what people want. I feel it.

I don't think I'm the gift of the world - I just do what I do, and I love it and I've been lucky.

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 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."

If I get to the point where I don't like my clothes, I'm in big trouble.