Quotes from Oscar de la Renta

I wanted this, I wanted to do this, but my work is me, and it has to be right.

Be the designer of your own destiny.

When I was a boy, I thought scent was contained in dewdrops on flowers and if I got up very early in the morning, I could collect it and make perfume.

The great thing about fashion is that it always looks forward.

My entire concept of lifestyle is built on the foundation of my homes. There is no more important expression of this concept than that of my own personal living space.

It's important to excite the imagination of a woman.

A woman today knows that the power of her femininity is very important.

I have this complex that if I walk into a place wearing a colorful shirt someone will stop me and say, 'I'm sorry, but the Latin band comes through the other door.'

My customers are successful workingwomen.

I always say: To be well dressed you must be well naked.

And smile, you know I always tell the girls to smile because I hate sad faces.

It's not about what you wear, but about how you live your life

You have to appreciate every single day that you're alive. Life is a little bit like a garden - you have to find time to plant the seeds for beautiful flowers to grow.

Elegance is a discipline of life.

You don't need an introduction to succeed in life. You need to have good work. Work hard. Believe in yourself

The essence of style is how you live your life

My great strength is knowing who I am and where I come from - my island.

I do not have one theme for each season, I just try to make beautiful clothes all year round.

Any girl from any walk of life dreams of that special dress, and I try to make that dream a reality for her.

The most important beauty is not that with which you were born, but the beauty of character which grows through a woman's life and maybe never stops growing.

We live in an era of globalization and the era of the woman. Never in the history of the world have women been more in control of their destiny.

I've lived every day to the fullest, and I've had a marvelous time. I've tried to be nice to the people I care about, and ignore the ones I don't. I enjoy what I've done.

Yes, I had cancer. Right now, I am totally clean. The only realities in life are that you are born, and that you die.

The most important thing? Perfect lighting at all times.