DVF's quotes are about as powerful as her wrap dresses or clutches: they'll make you want to take the world by the you-know-what and give life all you've got. You want to be wearing power heels when you hear these quotes. Maybe you've consulted Diane Von Furstenberg for advice on how to tackle life's curveballs or tuned into E!'s House of DVF to catch the icon's signature wisdom, maybe you've even read the designer's three memoirs. Basically, in addition to being an apparel brand, Diane Von Furstenberg is a lifestyle brand, too, the sort of cool older woman you just want to listen to.
For her biography Diane Von Furstenberg: A Life Unwrapped , Gioia Diliberto interviewed the fairy godmother of fashion. As you might expect, Diane's sage wisdom covers everything from the Zodiac to the tendencies of the young ("when you're young, you want to know what's going to happen in the future"). But what unites all Diane's know-how is her indefatigable spirit and her belief in beauty, her commitment to fashion's power to inspire change. "I always seem to be at a turning point," DVF told Diliberto.
You can trust DVF's talk because she walks the walk: after all, as Diliberto explains, "Diane ... believed that beauty was empowering in itself." Here are seven DVF quotes that'll drive you to realize your dreams, in style.
1. "I never met a woman who wasn't strong."
Diane has always preached total girl power, which is why she designs clothes that will make women first and foremost feel confident.
2. "Feel like a woman, wear a dress!"
DVF's slogan from the '70s reemerged in the early 2000s. According to Diliberto, "they still evoked the essential feature animating her career. Diane had found her fashion DNA in the femininity of European clothes ... but in translating Old World allure into American dresses, she had also drawn on her own struggle for independence." In other words, the catch phrase captures the story behind DVF's brand: "a woman could live a man's life while remaining a feminine woman."
3. "I want to be remembered as a nice woman who inspired other women."
Forget those ice queens of New York Fashion: DVF's kindness is the sort former employees and industry rivals can't go without remarking on.
4. "I believe in the circle of love. All the generosity and love you put out into the world over the decades comes back to you."
In other words, how you treat others is of the utmost importance. Even a recent DVF slogan echoes this sentiment: "Love is life is love is life."
5. “I never get in fights and I have no memory of pain.”
Because she's so focused on taking the world by storm and working for her dreams, Diane pushes past any rough patches and looks on the bright side, a trait she inherited from her mother, Lily, a Holocaust survivor who espoused a life philosophy of unflagging optimism.
6. "Building a wardrobe is like building a circle of friends your whole life."
A lover of art and literature, Diane's relationship with clothes is more than intimate. Her respect for and devotion to beautiful things reminded me of Marie Kondo, the Japanese organizing expert, who touts thanking your shoes after removing them after a long day. By caring about your wardrobe, you're caring about yourself.
7. "What defines me is the relationship I have with myself. I'm completely self-reliant."
According to Diliberto, "by her mid-twenties, Diane had achieved one of her chief goals — financial independence. She did not need a man for anything but pleasure, companionship, and emotional support." Diane's self-reliance is what allowed her to put her brand first, again and again. By valuing independence, Diane championed being exactly the woman she wanted to be--and urged other women to fight for their liberty, too.
Images: Bruce Monroe/Flickr; Giphy (5)
