Quotes from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff

It's not that I'm a control freak - but I am. I want to make sure everything is perfect.

I rely on accessories to add color and texture; if I'm already wearing something attention-getting, neutral-tone pumps keep the look from going over-the-top.

I love my Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, Vera Wang. I've grown up with them.

I witnessed the transformation of Melania from gold plate into twenty-four karat gold. I believed she had the heart to match.

Literally a headline destroyed my life and took away everything that I'd ever built.

I'm a worker. I need to keep busy.

For the record, my personal compensation for my work on the inauguration that I retained was $480,000. That number may seem like a lot. It is a lot.

What attracted me to Melania is her strength, her independence, her doesn't-matter-what-anybody-else-thinks attitude.

I now realize Melania is not a normal woman. Two women had described having sex with her husband on national TV in graphic detail in the same week. Her private response: It's politics.' Her public response: dead silence. It just wasn't a human reaction.

I organize my closet by season, color, and silhouette, but I don't edit often enough, which causes me to hoard Hermes cuffs in Hermes bags that are crammed into my living room because my closet is overflowing.

The Costume Institute Benefit became my baby. It was something that I lived, breathed, day and night.

My favorite event of the season is the Costume Institute Gala at the Met in May. To that I'll wear custom Vera Wang.

I really do think that it's going to be very important that fashion at Lincoln Center becomes a year-round initiative.

I'm not about the next big trend. I'm about the silhouette and right fit and right designer for me.

I was not a fashionista. I played Division I basketball. I'm a black belt in karate.

Actually, I live in T-shirts and True Religion jeans.

I try to keep my appearance classic and sophisticated.

Ivanka would never stop trying to muscle in on Melania's events.

I favor big, bold jewelry - especially statement necklaces that still have a sense of delicateness.

I love a bold statement piece!

I believed that regardless of political ideologies - the reality was I didn't even have any - which is no excuse, and it's a horrible thing to admit, but I've admitted it - you can't get into something not knowing who the players are, but also not understanding that policy and ethics go together.

It is my moral obligation to vote for Biden because I do not believe that Trump is a decent person and I believe in my heart that Biden is.

Melania's a pragmatist, Melania always - you know, if you can't control people's emotions then why even worry about it. And that's how she lived her life and that is what she stood by every day.

But for the vacation with my kids in the Bahamas, I'll bring a Michael Kors white gauze tunic, white Dolce & Gabbana jeans, Prada sandals, a ring by Iradj Moini, and enamel bracelets from Hermes.