I am truly happy with what I've got. But if I could alter something, it would be my hands. I've never been satisfied with them - I would love longer fingers.

Glamour is beyond beauty and beyond age. It's like sex appeal. You either have it or you don't, but I don't think it's the end of the world if you don't have it!

You can wear them with anything. It's the person and the way that they wear it that makes it different. I have been designing white shirts forever, but I don't get tired of it.

You have to have talent to design and to dress thousands of women or millions of women around the world. And you know very well, the only thing they want is to look more beautiful.

If you ask me to sew a button, I don't know how to do it! The idea of the whole collection and how you want to build your brand is all about working with the right people. And luck!

Can I tell you who is the most important fashion icon in the world? Queen Elizabeth of England. Think about that. She has never put her foot anywhere wrong and always looks fantastic.

I find that it is much easier now for women to be in any position because, as you see, they are presidents of banks, they are prime ministers, they are doctors. Everything is about women.

Something you wore three months ago, maybe you don't wear it again. I am a great believer that if something looks very good on you, you can wear it again, and it's not the end of the world.

Feeling good about yourself and your life is very important. I'm a happy woman, happy with my husband, my daughters, my grandchildren. We all get along quite well, and that keeps me centered.

I've been dressing Renee on the red carpet for the past three years, ... I think she always looks great. She has the right proportion for my clothes. She has that tiny waist and she loves fashion.

Most people travel with a good book, but I also keep my agenda with me; I'll flip through the pages and take a few moments to organize my life a little - I rarely get the time to do this normally.

I always remember my childhood house with happy memories. There was a beautiful garden, and outside my bedroom window was a jasmine vine which would open in the evenings, giving off a divine scent.

When I was living in Los Angeles, I always booked a moisturizing milk-and-honey massage the day before flying to Spain. It was heaven - I never got dry plane skin or felt stiff from sitting in one position.

You have to deal with the fashion egos. You know, there is a lot. It shouldn't be treated that seriously because fashion is only making dresses to make women look beautiful. We're not inventing anything new.

I want women to really look like women from today. It's not from the past and not from the future, because I don't know what happens in the future. It is the woman of today (who) I think is a seductive woman.

Sometimes I'm a psychiatrist and I tell people in my office that my door is open, and if they have a problem to come and talk to me. Sometimes I say, "I have to close the door because I don't want to hear it!"

I walk in the park every day, and when people come and ask for a photograph, I say, "Oh, my God!" It means they recognize that I have been doing something right and they want to have a photograph taken with me.

The little black dress must be luxurious, rich, sensual, diaphanous, exotic, severe, lush, demure, demanding, frivolous, amusing, and it must linger in memory, but above all, it must be simple and little and black.

The first painting that I realised I liked was 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' by Hieronymus Bosch, when I was six years old, at the Prado in Madrid. I still find myself returning there every time I'm in the city.

I love books; my suitcases are always full of them. Books and shoes. I read when I am sad, when I am happy, when I am nervous. My favourite British author is Jane Austen, and my favourite American one is John O'Hara.

Fashion is a dream. It's difficult, and there are many aspects of fashion that are very difficult, but if you love it like I do, because I really have a passion, now, for fashion, it's not easy, but nothing is easy in life.

I've had work done on my eyes in the past. However, I think there are limits. I wouldn't ever have too much done, as it looks unnatural, and I don't think you should do anything to your lips, as it changes the entire shape of your face.

I love white shirts because they feel like a security blanket. You can wear them with anything. It's the person and the way that they wear it that makes it different. I have been designing white shirts forever, but I don't get tired of it.

You have to find your own style, and it's difficult to define what style is. It's not what you're wearing; it's how you wear it. It's something very personal, and it reflects the way you live and your house, the books you read, the art you have.

Thank God my hair is always the same. And I get dressed very quickly. I am not one of those people who spend three hours getting dressed. I never understood that. What do you do for the two and a half hours after the half hour it takes you to get ready?

Even if it doesn't fit the woman, like, let's say a very short skirt, and the woman doesn't have the legs or the height to wear the skirt, but she has to wear it because it's fashionable. Don't do it! If it doesn't look good on you, don't worry about it.

It is difficult to read the reviews when you start because you see something in your collection and the press sees something else. That is when you have to be very strong about your own style. They can say whatever they want, but I do what I do because I love it.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion today over what is sexy and what is vulgar. It's horrifying. They say, 'Oh, that girl is so sexy,' and she turns around and the dress is four sizes too small. Or she's wearing so much stuff, you wonder how long it took her to get ready.

The '70s were full of creativity. Everybody was so unique. It was a very creative period, and I think to be a designer you have to know a little about art and literature and music because there is inspiration in all of these things. You're looking for beauty but also something that makes sense.

Have I ever been horrified to see someone in my clothes? Many times, but I close my eyes and look the other way. That happens to everyone. What can you do? Go and tell her, 'Don't wear that dress again'? We designers always have fantasies in our heads, but the difficult task is to make them reality. Because you can be the best designer, but designing in your own place and with nobody wearing [your clothes], then what happens? You're nowhere.

One thing about my mother is that she has her taste: She knows what she likes and what looks good. It's not studied. There is no insecurity in what she is going to wear, and I think that translates into effortlessness. Her career has been a steady rise, and it hasn't been about the fashion of the moment. It's been because she has kept to her style. She didn't go grunge when it was grunge, or 70's when it was 70's. It's about being secure with what you like and not worrying about what's in fashion that particular day. That's what I admire about her.

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