16 Tom Ford Quotes That’ll Teach You Everything You Need To Know About Style

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. Any products or services put forward appear in no particular order. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

Who doesn’t want to be Tom Ford? A fashion design legend and critically acclaimed film director, there’s little the man can’t do. Last month marked the release of his second film, Nocturnal Animals – a gripping thriller, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal – and if A Single Man, Ford’s BAFTA-winning and Academy Award-nominated debut, is anything to go by, it’s set for success.

But as impressive as his recent cinematic feats are, Ford’s perhaps best known as an all-round style arbiter, and particularly for his own distinctive look consisting of a black suit and crisp white shirt. His stylish, singular vision in fashion and film makes Ford the ultimate modern gentleman. So who better to take your cue from?

1. “Always keep your jacket buttoned. If I had one rule for men, it’s this. It instantly makes your silhouette.” – The Fashionisto

2. “A man should never wear shorts in the city. It’s not appropriate. Thongs and shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or at the beach.” – Men’s Health Australia

3. “A man should try wearing a suit throughout a normal day. I do most things in a suit – and sometimes even in a tuxedo – so I’m really comfortable in one. I don’t believe in playing around much with suit cuts. I like a simple, classic shape that gives a man strong shoulders, a fitted waist, and long legs.” – The Fashionisto

4. “A good trick as you get older is to get a thick pair of glasses that have a dark frame. Everything else can droop and slide but that pair of dark glasses stays sharp and crisp.” – Esquire

5. “Figure out what your look is. I don’t wear a black suit-white shirt combination all the time to be ‘iconic’ but because I’m most comfortable in this and I don’t feel the need to experiment.” – Men’s Health Australia (June 2016)

6. “One trend frightens me. Someone actually just came into my office [wearing it] and I said, ‘Go home right now.’ And that’s the length of pant that’s sort of mid-calf. It appeared on Big Brother about eight years ago and made it onto the street. There’s nothing wrong with ankles. But only if you’re playing football in the park.” – Esquire

7. “Never, ever, ever wear anything you are uncomfortable in. Because that is what you’ll project: ‘I look like a fool.’ Even if you don’t – you’ll be tentative and not your best.” – in conversation with Lady Kinvara Balfour at the Apple Store, London (April 2014):

8. “At home, off-duty, I wear T-shirts from Fruit of the Loom but I have them tailored – if the sleeves are cut over the tricep your arms look much better.” – in conversation with Colin McDowell at Selfridges

9. “You should put on the best version of yourself when you go out in the world because that is a show of respect to the other people around you.” – AnOther

10. “I didn’t grow up in a wealthy family. We were a middle-class American family. But we knew the rules. We knew that an afternoon wedding was a daytime suit, that black shoes were worn with blue suits and brown shoes with grey.” – The New York Times

11. “Even with a soft jaw, when you trim your beard well, you’ll look sharp and chiseled.” – GQ

12. “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.” – Esquire

13. “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.” – GQ

14. “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.” – GQ

15. “A lot of people think a high armhole is restrictive, but it gives you total movement because it’s cut right up to your arm.” – Tom Ford talks shop with Karl Lagerfeld for Time

16. “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.” – GQ

Similar Articles

TRENDING ARTICLES

TRENDING ARTICLES

Subscribe successfully!!