Quotes from Carolina Herrera

There's a tendency for designers to embellish the size of their business. I never lie.

I am very shy. When I go to a charity ball, I don't mind if people look at my sleeves. I mind terribly if I have to say something.

Life is hard. It is not too short, it is too long. But you have to learn how to live; you have to have a sense of humour.

Life always has a bit of a challenge in front of you, and that's what makes you fight for it.

If you do something for so long, it's really great in your life, right?

A man has to have sensibility, wit, mystery, tolerance, and strength... Romance also helps.

A wedding dress is both an intimate and personal for a woman - it must reflect the personality and style of the bride.

I rarely go into a shop on holiday, because fashion and design are what I'm involved in every day. I need another world.

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.

You feel very romantic when you're in a ball gown. Everyone should wear one once in a while.

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.

Money doesn't buy elegance. You can take an inexpensive sheath, add a pretty scarf, gray shoes, and a wonderful bag, and it will always be elegant.

It's not my aspiration to appear on a reality show. That's the last thing I need in my life.

The red carpet is very important. You have to be very careful to have the right person dressed in right way. For me, it has to be a perfect look.

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.

Fashion is magical, a fantasy. It's madness, and it doesn't last. It's changing all the time.

Fashion is not easy. You have to change your eye to look for beauty all the time.

If you think that you did everything and know everything and that everything has been done perfectly well, then it's time to retire.

I love myself so much, I simply cannot describe it.

Fashion has always been a repetition of ideas, but what makes it new is the way you put it together.

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.

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.

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.

In fashion, you have to have perseverance. You have to do it again and again, but it's something that comes out of my heart, and I love it.