Top 140 Tim Gunn Quotes (2025 Update)
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101. “There’s one thing I will not do, ever: I will never talk to you about things you cannot change. It plants a negativity in the head of a designer or the student, and it’s a distraction.”

— Tim Gunn

102. “Perhaps you like to torture yourself by trying on some jeans from a few years ago to see if you can button them. Clothes do not exist to humiliate their owners. Please do not force garments into performing psychological tasks for which they were not designed.”

— Tim Gunn

103. “I say long and lean as opposed to tall, because you could be 5 four and look long and lean.”

— Tim Gunn

104. “I’m one of the biggest introverts you could ever meet.”

— Tim Gunn

105. “I do things like hem a pair of pants, I do my own tailoring but I wouldn’t attempt a jacket.”

— Tim Gunn

106. “We all had to search for more words to describe things.”

— Tim Gunn

107. “People believe that if you’re concerned about the clothes you’re wearing and the larger aspects of your appearance, that it’s anti-intellectual. I say “Hogwash!” The clothes we wear send a message about how the world perceives us.”

— Tim Gunn

108. “I try to phrase criticism in the nicest possible way, but I also never lie. If people ask, I assume it’s because they want to know. People are not dumb about these things; they can tell when a compliment isn’t sincere.”

— Tim Gunn

109. “In a manner of speaking. I certainly never want to lose my voice as an educator.”

— Tim Gunn

110. “Although there are few things easier than throwing on a dress, something about them communicates that you have made an effort.”

— Tim Gunn

111. “If you have to ask if a clothing item is a dress or a top, it is always a top.”

— Tim Gunn

112. “Whether they come from Brooks Brothers or a thrift store, the sweaters we wear have a magnificent ancestry. Their history spans the worlds of Irish fishermen, French knights, World War I soldiers, busty Hollywood ‘sweater girls,’ and the television saint Mr. Rogers. That history lives in each garment. By being aware of it, we can better appreciate what we have.”

— Tim Gunn

113. “What I’ve learned from him is that boundaries are liberating. They can be readjusted all the time, but it’s important to have them... If you burn out, no one’s going to benefit. So it’s in everyone’s interest for you to do what you can and then make it clear that you can do no more.”

— Tim Gunn

114. “People use texting and e-mail for everything, but it’s not appropriate for somber situations. If you win an Oscar, tweet away, but if you’re talking about a death or an illness, you need to use more formal channels. For example: You can promote an employee via e-mail, but you can’t fire him. You can ask someone out by e-mail, but you can’t break up with her. Happy occasions can be casual. Sad or serious ones require a personal touch.”

— Tim Gunn

115. “The bulky caveman boot certainly has a modern heir: Uggs. I feel they are aptly named and don’t belong in this millennium, but I realize I’m in the minority on that.”

— Tim Gunn

116. “Staples are only good if they truly suit our lifestyle.”

— Tim Gunn

117. “All the magazines contradict each other because it is so diverse. Know what you like, know what looks good on you and keep doing it, no reason to chase trends.”

— Tim Gunn

118. “Success needs to be measured according to the ambitions and the resources of each designer. And many aren’t interested in being a megabrand.”

— Tim Gunn

119. “I love Modern Family but it’s among a handful of favorite shows.”

— Tim Gunn

120. “If you told me when I was a teen that I would end up being a teacher, I would have said you’re out of your mind, because quite frankly I hated school.”

— Tim Gunn

121. “It’s not an area where designers want to focus or pay attention – women who are larger than a size 12.”

— Tim Gunn

122. “Remember someone is going to be out, so don’t make it you.”

— Tim Gunn

123. “I just don’t like conspicuous consumption. I find it distasteful.”

— Tim Gunn

124. “I believe women do the best womenswear.”

— Tim Gunn

125. “Models come in all sizes and shapes.”

— Tim Gunn

126. “Whenever people tell me they don’t know how to get inspired, I say “What’s the matter with you?! I could stay in my apartment and be inspired!””

— Tim Gunn

127. “In my typical way, I declined to respond, saying that I didn’t want anyone to run to a store just because I endorsed a trend. Besides, a trend is good only if it works for you, your wardrobe, and your lifestyle.”

— Tim Gunn

128. “I’ve never mentioned this, but when I was at Parsons teaching, the other design disciplines, they don’t like fashion design. They see it as very nineteenth-century.”

— Tim Gunn

129. “My manners also came from when I was in college and began participating in critiques. You have to speak with someone respectfully about their work and be honest and open, without hurting them.”

— Tim Gunn

130. “I don’t particularly like entertaining. I know I should, but I just don’t.”

— Tim Gunn

131. “I pretty much stay true to myself and try to find the good in people and not be snarky.”

— Tim Gunn

132. “If I could predict the trends, they would already be there.”

— Tim Gunn

133. “On my first day teaching my own classroom, I threw up before I entered the building.”

— Tim Gunn

134. “I would say this to my students all the time, it’s about 30% you as the teacher and 70% about them. They tend to think that their role is to be the baby bird in a nest and you’re going to feed them? They’re going to feed themselves, or they’re going to starve.”

— Tim Gunn

135. “When I’m working in the real world with real women and we’re shopping, we find that fashion seems to end when you get any larger than a size 12. How ridiculous is that?”

— Tim Gunn

136. “We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And every so often, we shop because we need something to wear.”

— Tim Gunn

137. “If I had to choose a single destination where I’d be held captive for the rest of my time in New York, I’d choose the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

— Tim Gunn

138. “Until the sixteenth century, men – priests, academics, judges, merchants, princes, and many others – wore skirts, or robes. For men, the skirt was a ‘sign of leisure and a symbol of dignity,’ writes Quentin Bell. This is still true for men in high positions. After all, can you imagine the Pope, or Professor Dumbledore, wearing trousers? Have you ever seen a depiction of God wearing pants?”

— Tim Gunn

139. “Being in the moment is everything. So being in the moment for me is just letting the narrative play out, listening to the designers and giving them helpful feedback about what they’re doing.”

— Tim Gunn

140. “We no longer need fur for warmth and protection. There are plenty of textiles that provide that today. It’s pure whim and vanity to choose to wear fur. It shows a level of ignorance or lack of concern that reflects poorly on the wearer.”

— Tim Gunn

141. “I don’t know why I’ve always been so captivated by architecture.”

— Tim Gunn

142. “I want to say to anyone who works in a drone workplace, raise the bar! There’s no reason why you have to dress to the lowest common denominator.”

— Tim Gunn

143. “From my own experience, there are so many people who believe that the individual can change. The individual doesn’t have to be LGBT.”

— Tim Gunn

144. “Frankly, I think that fur on a man is difficult to pull off. If it’s the warmth you’re after, then I’d go with a fur-lined coat – it won’t show.”

— Tim Gunn

145. “Important learning occurs when a struggle is examined and analyzed, diagnosed, and a prescription offered. Ergo, make it work. I believe that we all benefit from the make-it-work practice.”

— Tim Gunn

146. “I have to have my coffee. I probably have three cups a day, but only before noon.”

— Tim Gunn

147. “Trying and acheiving are two different things.”

— Tim Gunn