Tom Ford Quotes & Sayings

While fashion is exciting because it changes all the time, it is also fleeting. Film, though, is forever. In a way therefore, film is the ultimate design project. — Tom Ford

Never, ever, ever wear anything you are uncomfortable in. Because that is what you'll project: 'I look like a fool.' — Tom Ford

Fashion is everything. Art, music, furniture design, graphic design, hair, makeup, architecture, the way cars look - all those things go together to make a moment in time, and that's what excites me. — Tom Ford

If you're at the Oscars, there's not a man on that red carpet who is not wearing make-up. Most straight actors I know get quite used to it. Even when they go out in real life they grab some sort of bronzer and they throw it on. They dye their eyebrows, they dye their lashes - they know the tricks. — Tom Ford

You never make it, especially in this industry where you constantly churn out stuff, things. You never finish. — Tom Ford

September 11th was a moment when America had the sympathy of the world. — Tom Ford

British men are peacocks. You see a lot more style on the streets here than you see anywhere else, on every level. — Tom Ford

I went through some tough times because if you're used to having a voice in contemporary culture and all of sudden, you don't have that voice, you don't have that outlet. I didn't appreciate that. I didn't understand how important that was to me. And all of a sudden, after investing all this time and energy, I had no identity. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what I had to say. I didn't have a way to say it. It was very painful. — Tom Ford

Dressing well is a form of good manners. — Tom Ford

She needs to have a few drinks and cry a little-then she'll be perfect. — Tom Ford

Just like girls need to learn to be comfortable in heels before they go out in them for the first time, a man should try wearing a suit throughout a normal day. I do most things in a suit-and sometimes even in a tuxedo-and so I'm really comfortable in one. — Tom Ford

Your name is a funny thing. It stands for what you're about, and everything I do is really about pride. — Tom Ford

I grew up in New Mexico, and the older I get, I have less need for contemporary culture and big cities and all the stuff we are bombarded with. I am happier at my ranch in the middle of nowhere watching a bug carry leaves across the grass, listening to silence, riding my horse, and being in open space. — Tom Ford

You have to love what you do to the point that you can't imagine doing anything else with your life. — Tom Ford

I do struggle because I'm attracted to beautiful things, yet at the same time I am actually very aware, in some sense, their lack of value and that the most important things in life are your connections to other people. — Tom Ford

When the youth of America gets together, amazing things happen. — Tom Ford

In my adult life I've understood that if I put an enormous amount of love and honesty into something, usually that shows in the end. — Tom Ford

But as an adult working in the fashion industry, I struggle with materialism. And I'm one of the least materialistic people that exist, because material possessions don't mean much to me. They're beautiful, I enjoy them, they can enhance your life to a certain degree, but they're ultimately not important. — Tom Ford

I just want to make beautiful, glamorous clothes. — Tom Ford

Style. People talk about it being stylish and beautiful, that's at the service of the story. Style for me means nothing without substance and there are moments and things about the film that are stylish but hopefully at the service of the story. — Tom Ford

I think that the older you get, the more you become your true, essential self. You find the things that make you happy. You whittle away the parts of yourself that mean less to you. — Tom Ford

Dressing well is a kind of good manners, if you ask me. When you're standing in a room, your effect is the same as a chair's effect, or a sculpture's. You're part of someone's view, you're part of that world, and so you should dress well. I find it's a show of respect to try to put on your best face and look as good as you can. — Tom Ford

Tweeting? It's one of the silliest things ever. — Tom Ford

The dynamics of film directing and fashion design - in the ways that I've done it - were not dissimilar. — Tom Ford

I'm very direct. I don't have tantrums. I don't yell or shout. I do expect an awful lot from my staff, but no more than I expect of myself. — Tom Ford

To me, beauty and sadness are very closely linked. Truly beautiful things make me sad because I know they are going to fade. When I see a beautiful 20-year-old boy or girl-and they are breathtaking-I am filled with a kind of sadness. But maybe they are beautiful because we know they are not permanent and they are in a kind of transition. — Tom Ford

I'm a pretty calm person. That came from living in Italy for a long time. Nothing works, nothing is on time. You have to learn to deal with it. — Tom Ford

Anyone with a long-term partner, anyone with a long-term lover, if that lover dies, you could easily see yourself in a situation where you couldn't see your future and you would be living entirely in the past. It's about that loss. — Tom Ford

I went to a fashion show, and this silver-haired guy was staring at me with these piercing water-blue eyes. It scared me because I absolutely saw and knew my entire future. — Tom Ford

I love fashion. What I love is the ability to express yourself, to be able to make a product and shoot an ad campaign that tosses you out into the world and lets you have a voice in contemporary culture, iconography. I felt a little bit neutered not having that voice. — Tom Ford

Choose your team carefully. So much of your success is due to the people who you surround yourself with. Your friends, your family, and the people that you work with
they all play an important role in inspiring you and supporting you and giving you stability. These are the people in your life who will be honest with you. — Tom Ford

I don't believe in playing around much with suit cuts. I like a fairly classic shape that gives a man strong shoulders, a fitted waist, and long legs. Classic simplicity always works. — Tom Ford

On the one hand, I want to go off and live in the desert with my dog and sculpt things out of adobe. — Tom Ford

What works with your skin and eyes? Use that to zero in on your wardrobe. — Tom Ford

The U.S. used to be perceived as the moral leader of the world, and we have absolutely lost that. — Tom Ford

In the early Seventies, I had shoulder-length hair, bell-bottom pants, love beads and shirts that laced up at the front. But then I smartened up. — Tom Ford

If I were straight and I were trying to seduce a woman, I could do it just by standing up at the table when she came back from the bathroom. It works. Every time I do that, all the straight men are sitting at the table and their wives are kicking them. "Look at that!" "You never do that for me!" — Tom Ford

British people still wear clothes. By clothes I mean actual clothes: jackets and shirts and ties and suits. The spirit of Beau Brummell is still visible. English men make an effort. We've lost that in the US. Everyone is more concerned with being comfortable. — Tom Ford

I do everything completely naked — Tom Ford

I don't work for money any longer. I work for pride. — Tom Ford

I'm a very serious person. — Tom Ford

I hate tricky facial hair. If your facial hair is too spotty in places, shave. Just forget about it. — Tom Ford

The most important thing is to cleanse and moisturise your face twice a day. Use eye drops. If your eyes are white, you look healthy; you look fresh. Every man should have a magnifying mirror. If you look good magnified, you are set to go. — Tom Ford

There's a different kind of comfort that comes from knowing that you are putting your best foot forward. It's called psychological comfort. Look at a picture of the Coney Island boardwalk in 1925. Men were in full-on three-piece suits, hats. They may have only had one suit. But they pressed it. They made it look as good as possible. — Tom Ford

It's really about putting that sort of quality and beauty back into our life. — Tom Ford

I believe that when you really want to do something, you should go ahead and do it. I mean, I feel fear, but I never let that stop me. — Tom Ford

If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It's looked down upon to be too stylish. Europeans, however, appreciate style. — Tom Ford

I was not good at team sports, I have to say. I'm quite good at individual sports, but I was not good at team sports, so I wasn't good at baseball and football. — Tom Ford

My customer has her own sense of style and knows herself well. My goal is to help women become the best version of themselves. — Tom Ford

I think people who are attracted to the fashion industry are people who are really insecure and looking for a certain identity. — Tom Ford

Dressing effectively is a kind of excellent manners. — Tom Ford

Film is an incredible way to express yourself and your vision, as is fashion, but you have to make sure [to] be confident and honest and true to yourself and say something that means something, because that is really the point of any art. — Tom Ford

There are many designers who have much greater talent as a designer than I do, but they may not have my drive, they may not work as hard, they may not have the focus, the desire ... You have to have a talent because, at the end of the day, if the pants you design don't make someone's butt look great, they're not going to buy them. — Tom Ford

We have the Terminator as governor, and we had an actor as president, so why shouldn't we have a fashion designer as a senator? — Tom Ford

I like to just have fun and be silly and say pretty much whatever comes into my mind, do pretty much whatever I want. — Tom Ford

I suppose, yes, I've been guilty of provocation but it's also just common sense marketing - put a bottle of scent in a woman's cleavage, or between her thighs - and men will notice. — Tom Ford

At home, off-duty, I wear T-shirts from Fruit of the Loom - but I have them tailored. — Tom Ford

I love New York. It's given me so much as a designer. When I moved here, I wanted to tap into the glamour of the city immediately. More than anywhere else, New York offers itself up - you arrive and get a rush in a flash. It's dazzling. Everywhere you look, there is decoration, from a pair of jewel-encrusted shoes in the window in Bergdorf Goodman to the Chrysler Building. And New York is incredibly democratic. Everyone is packed into this tiny space. You are confronted with all manner of people, and I love that. — Tom Ford

I am not a person who is about reality. I am about enhanced reality. — Tom Ford

There's nothing wrong with ankles. But only if you're playing football in the park. — Tom Ford

It's funny, our beauty standard has become harder and tougher because we live in a tough age. I don't think anyone wants to walk down the street and feel vulnerable. You want to walk down the street and feel like you're in control. — Tom Ford

I know one day I'll be irrelevant. No matter how hard you try there is a cultural moment, but eventually that window's gone, your time on Earth is finished, and you might as well leave. I could absolutely die tomorrow - I would not care. I feel like I've lived, I feel like I've had a great life. — Tom Ford

What's so wrong with vanity? It's different from narcissism, you know? It's not about admiring yourself-it's about taking pride in your appearance. — Tom Ford

If I'm sending emails, and I get all wound up and stressed and don't know what to do with myself for 20 minutes, I just go soak in hot water and lie there, thinking, 'What should I do?' So it's meditative. — Tom Ford

My own skin-care ritual is quite simple and straightforward; I don't like a lot of fuss, surprisingly. My products are designed to make you look and feel better. I think there are a lot of men out there who want and need the same products. — Tom Ford

I'm a perfectionist, to the point of insanity. — Tom Ford

It's not a feminizing product; it's designed to make your skin look better. — Tom Ford

Moving fashion used to be one of my chief goals. It's not necessarily any more. Fashion needs to change when life changes. You only need to move fashion forward when there's a reason to move fashion forward. — Tom Ford

I never want to retire until the day I drop dead. I want to work and work and work because work, I don't do for money, I do for love. And I love to work. — Tom Ford

Skin bathed in summer sunset light is sultry and sublime. Every woman looks irresistible in its glow-relaxed and sensual. — Tom Ford

This sounds crazy, but I know so many famous people, I'm just not intimidated by anyone. I feel really comfortable with it. — Tom Ford

I hate going out for lunch during a workday because it slows down my pace and ruins my rhythm. I prefer to eat at my desk. Actually, I wander around the design studio with a plate in my hand as I dine on, for example, salmon sashimi and a salad of tomatoes and mozzarella. I often have a bit of dark chocolate after lunch. — Tom Ford

When I come home I actually take off all my clothes, and I wear no clothes until I leave. I eat naked. I do everything completely naked. — Tom Ford

Maybe it's because I'm a designer, but when I am in a state of excitement, everything is so sharp and colorful and amazing, and I can look at blue and I see the yellow in it and the green in it, and the green-blues, the yellow-blues, so. — Tom Ford

A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach. — Tom Ford

I'm living the exact life I planned on living when I was five. My life has taken some turns and changes that I didn't anticipate, and it has brought me different things. I thought material things would bring me happiness, which they didn't. But through this, I have learned what things are important and what aren't. — Tom Ford

The world might be a very scary place if it were only run by Virgos. — Tom Ford

I live, I shop almost exclusively on the Internet. I've bought cars on the Internet. I watch television, I do everything on it. I even watch my son online. — Tom Ford

Want girls to let you put your fingers in certain places? Get a manicure. — Tom Ford

I was not popular. I was the kid in school that was bullied. — Tom Ford

I don't want to find myself designing for the press. — Tom Ford

First of all, I love women. But I lust after beautiful women in the way that I lust after a beautiful piece of sculpture - this will probably get me in trouble - or a beautiful car. I believe everyone's on a sliding scale of sexuality. There are moments where I am sexually attracted to women. But it doesn't overpower my first impulse; my lust for them is the same as my lust for beauty in all things. — Tom Ford

If my parents had discouraged me, I would have turned out very differently. They raised me in an open-minded, liberal environment. — Tom Ford

I'm actually very introverted. I'm very shy. I'm very emotional. — Tom Ford

I'm a believer in fate and in fulfilling your destiny. I've always had a kind of inner voice that I have learned to listen to. — Tom Ford

I think people who are compelled to achieve never really think they've achieved ... I think the moment you get to a place when you think 'Oh I'm a fashion legend' then that's when you're no longer competitive in your field. — Tom Ford

Perfection is almost an illness with me, but sometimes I have moments where everything is absolutely clear and you can feel, rather than think. — Tom Ford

I probably do have an obsessive personality, but striving for perfection has served me well. — Tom Ford

I love black dresses. I think everyone should own a lot, but black dresses don't sell online because on the computer they don't read like anything. — Tom Ford

I am actually extremely casual in certain environments. But one of the reasons I like living in London, I like the formality of it, as compared to the formality of America - or informality. I like putting on a suit. I like putting on a tie. — Tom Ford

Certain directors are known for a certain kind of beauty; it becomes their signature. — Tom Ford

I'm extremely organized. The more things I have to work on and can bounce back and forth between, the more energized I am. — Tom Ford

Every season, really, has their own chemistry. — Tom Ford

We've become a little spoiled with menswear in particular because, of course, we've come off a period in the '70s and '80s when Armani, which is very soft, dominated menswear. And we've become obsessed with comfort. I actually don't like that. — Tom Ford

Both film and fashion are businesses where the audience doesn't feel or see the work that goes on behind the scenes. — Tom Ford

I have a driver in London because I am slightly dyslexic and cannot drive in the U.K.; after all, the traffic runs the opposite way to that in the United States. — Tom Ford

Fashion is harder than the film industry. You have to constantly be able to crank out hit after hit after hit on demand and on a very tight calendar. I've come back, I've lost it, I've come back again. It's really as good as your last collection. — Tom Ford

Once upon a time we did not focus on a president's private life. — Tom Ford

Do you know how rare it is in parts of America to actually see 'an outfit'? France? I don't want to be anti-French, but there isn't a more unattractive group of people on the streets. — Tom Ford

I don't believe that clothes can start a revolution, but I do believe that fashion is often a manifestation of a sociological or political climate. — Tom Ford