Quotes from Philip Treacy

You always see a better side of where you're visiting when a local shows you around.

When people come and visit me and have a hat made, it's a little bit like visiting a psychiatrist, but they don't actually realize that.

My aim is to change people's perceptions of what a hat can look like in the 21st century.

I grew up in the west of Ireland, and Galway was our local seaside resort. We'd go for one day of the year during the summer, and I have enduring memories of the sand and the sea.

The personality of the wearer and the hat makes the hat.

In a world where every man and his dog is a designer, Alexander McQueen was the real deal. His talent was supersonic.

I believe in a democratic approach to fashion: if you feel good, then great. You may not look good, but it's not the problem.

Hats make people feel good, and that's the point of them.

Hats are radical; only people that wear hats understand that.

Wearing a hat is fun; people have a good time when they're wearing a hat.

When you're wearing something on your head, you feel beautiful.

There's a technicality to designing and wearing hats. A hat is balancing the proportions of your face; it's like architecture or mathematics.

Often, what makes my job so exciting is designing for the mother whose dream has been to wear one of my hats at her child's wedding. I feel as responsible for making her feel like a million dollars as I do for somebody in the public eye.

Hats are the epitome of Englishness, and a royal wedding is the penultimate moment for a hat designer. I'm Irish, but I am a royalist and I believe in fantasy.

Hats are attached to special moments in people's lives - weddings, or the races. In difficult times, people still get married; they still want to look their best.

I must point out - Sarah Jessica Parker is not a diva - she's one of these pop culture characters that everybody likes.

When you meet someone, you meet their face. It's the most potent part of the body to embellish.

At home, I had seven brothers, one sister. I sewed clothes for my sister's dolls although she was grown and gone away. I was a weirdo but didn't think I was a weirdo.

The only person I never made a hat for was my mother because my mother didn't really - she preferred to make her own hats. I mean, she was intrigued by everything, but she didn't want one of my hats. She made her own.

I'm representative of 21st century Irish design, so I promote Irishness all over the world wherever I go.

I believe in originality, primarily. However, it's important to know what there has been before to aim in that direction. Art history informs us. It informs our mind. I like to look at books, exhibitions, paintings, as a computer, subconsciously taking on information.

I am very proud to be Irish.

Royalty is completely different than celebrity. Royalty has a magic all its own.

When people think of hats, they think of her majesty the queen.