Top 89 Quotes & Sayings by Michael Bastian

I get my best ideas in that state of suspended consciousness just before sleep.

Just being out in the world gives me ideas.

The minute you see a guy doing one of those Naomi Campbell catwalk-action kind of things, it falls apart. A lot of hips and the scissor walk? No! Men always need to be men.

You can have a real ongoing dialogue through social media that wasn't possible before.

I once had this idea that I wanted to make the perfect boxer short that's not too long, not too short, with pearl buttons, made from real shirting fabric. They were coming in at $215. Well, not even the richest guy in the world is going to pay more than $125 for his underwear.

Everyone looks better and more alive in a pink shirt.

I consistently go back to myself: What am I looking for or wanting to wear myself, right now, that I don't already have? I always figure if I'm looking for it, a lot of guys are.

The minute a male model looks like he's doing a runway walk, it falls apart. It should look like they're just walking.

Celebrities, the beach, and Coachella, that's what everyone thinks about when they think of Los Angeles. Then you see these people living in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills, and they're so chic and have so much style.

People talk to me about celebrities all the time and which ones do I admire, and it's so hard because you can't tell who's doing it for themselves and who hired a stylist.

I never doubted my place in the world.

Michael Bastian is a designer line and priced a certain way because of where it's made and the materials we use, and Gant is the more accessible version of that: more sports-inspired, more branding. It has the same DNA; it's just a different time and place.

At a certain point, this is a brand. It's got to be bigger than me as one little person. We have a lane - and it's a good lane - and want to drive faster down that lane.

Anyone can be James Dean for a day.

Edie and Lew Wasserman were chic as hell.

The hardest thing in the world to do is to take something everyone already knows and make it a little better.

I don't know if I would use that word, 'trailblazer.' That implies that this huge crowd followed me, and that certainly is not the case!

I love doing these little collaborations. We collaborate with Stubbs & Wooton on the shoes for Michael Bastian.

I'm always asking, 'How do you give a guy a new reason to buy a polo?'

Most guys open their closet and tend to wear about 10% of what they own - and they wear that 10% over and over again. So the trick is to be honest with yourself and figure out what that 10% is.

Good clothes are good clothes, and they don't need whales and tricks and too many jokes. Sometimes you just need something to wear.

I'm a big fan of TV on demand. I'm embarrassed to say what I watch. It's the worst crap.

I feel like design school might ruin people, particularly if you're a menswear designer, as there's not much focus on business.

Women are more open to trying on a new personality every season; they can go from goth to bombshell to librarian, whatever.

Men and women shop very differently, and where women are open to edgy, conceptual looks, very, very few men are.

I'm a big believer in small, dark, cozy bedrooms. I would describe myself as introspective - I feel things first, and then I think them through - and I need the enveloping comfort of a little squirrel's nest when I have to retreat from the world to recharge.

I've always envied Thomas Jefferson's bed at Monticello. It's in a tiny alcove, bound by walls at the head and foot.

When you think mid-seventies, you think of Studio 54, but there was a whole other thing going on. Where I was, it was more deep-woods preppy. Real-guy preppy.

You don't want to have a boring runway presentation, but you don't want to show stuff nobody is going to wear.

I'm a New Yorker, so I don't own a car, but I rent a lot of cars.

Designer pricing should hurt, but it shouldn't kill you. You wince when you hand over your AmEx, but once you get it home, you never regret it. You divide it by how many days you're using it, and suddenly it becomes affordable.

The beauty of men's shoppers is that they're super loyal.

I've always had this idea that I would love to do a Boston-inspired collection, whether it's for my own line or whether it's for Gant.

I've always had this thing for swimming pools - I think they're much sexier and far more glamorous than the beach, in a way. You dress differently when you're spending a day at an amazing pool than you would dress for the beach.

As a group, the fashion industry has been one of the strongest in the effort to fight HIV and AIDS. There are many groups dedicated to fighting this disease; GMHC's Fashion Forward is just one of them. But I think everyone in this industry fights it in their own way.

Gray has this crisp, neat-as-a-pin thing going for it, whereas black seems lazy and, at the same time, like it's trying too hard.

I stay in a lot of hotels, and the best part of travel is getting back to my own bed.

Great ideas are very much 'of the moment,' and endlessly mulling them over just takes up too much of your brain space and might block your next great idea. Act on it, give it away, or move on.

I like the idea that we settle into what looks best on us. Then it becomes a game of finding the perfect version of those things.

I still don't think I'm a fashion guy. I think I'm a clothes guy. I'm a little obsessive.

The guys who like chinos and cords never went away. They've always been there. They're remarkably loyal, just not remarkably vocal.

If you're a New Yorker, there are two things that are most important: a car and a washer and dryer. Literally everyone else in America has those things! It's so weird to them that these are our luxuries. You can eat at Per Se every night, but I don't have a car or washer and dryer!

Gray feels like the city.

When I began designing my Spring '13 collection, it wasn't even Spring '12 yet. Snow was actually still on the ground in New York, but I knew I wanted this particular spring season to be freer, more colorful, easier, more about feeling good, and I wanted there to be a sexier feeling than we've been known for in the past.

With tailored clothing, you can really see where the money went. How it's constructed, how it fits your body - this becomes very apparent in tailored clothing.

I'm a designer with a little 'd' as opposed to a big 'd.' It's a job; I'm more about contributing to a man's wardrobe, offering the things that I look for myself.

I'd like to think my brand shares some of those characteristics we like to think of as classically American - a certain straightforwardness, honesty, a sense of humor, inclusiveness, practicality - all those great Yankee traits. And I don't mean the baseball team.

I feel like everyone should buy less but buy better.

All it takes is for one person to say, 'Wow, that looks great on you' - and then they wear it for the next 10 years. That's the great thing about guys. They just need that little bit of encouragement.

A cheap suit is a cheap suit; there's nothing you can do about it.

I prefer simpler shirts, like a solid oxford or pinstripe, and with a solid cashmere crewneck or V-neck.

I think the secret of my brand is that I speak to the guys who just get it. They don't want something all logo'd and tricked out. But they go to the gym. They still go out; they want to look hot. And they want an upgrade, but they don't want to look like their dad.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the season-to-season business, but to have real longevity in this field, you've got to always maintain your point of view and what makes your brand unique. Your business is always going to have ups and downs, but there needs to be a certain consistency.

One of the weird things about being a designer is guessing what the world will want about a year in advance of when they will want it. It becomes almost a psychological test in a way - how do I feel now and how do I want to feel then.

If everything is a little baggy, then everything will look sloppy when you layer one piece on top of another. Your sport coat should easily fit over a shirt and a fine-gauge sweater.

A shirt's not just a shirt. It's the experience of what goes into that shirt.

My goal is to elevate the whole casual end of the guy's wardrobe.

Even if it's a polo shirt and chinos, they should be the best possible quality and fit perfectly.

You get to a certain age, and you learn what looks good on you.

Guys are leery about putting on something they don't think is them. They have a fixed idea of themselves.