18 Quotes by Tadashi Shoji

Anyone can wear my dresses. They will look good on any figure, no matter what shape you are. I want to celebrate a woman's inner strength, to inspire real women and make them feel confident and beautiful.

Time flies so quick. I remember my second year in business when Bullocks Wilshire did a whole window of my white dresses. I was so excited, I went there at night and took pictures.

As I get older, I find that wearing bright colors cheers me up.

So many designers only sketch and leave pattern-making to others. Pattern-making is important so you know the structure. Then if someone tells me, 'I can't make a pattern from that sketch,' I can tell them, 'I will make it' and then they are quiet. If I can't make it, I don't design it.

It's a Japanese way of thinking, that I give value for my merchandise. So I don't want to sell unnecessarily expensive dresses and make just 10 or 20 and then feel satisfied. I want to design for real women who can afford my dresses.

I design to make women feel confident and beautiful.

There's almost a T-shirt feeling to wearing my evening dresses.

Am I famous in Japan? I don't know, and I don't really think of myself in that way.

I am not really brand-conscious; I pick out clothes that appeal to me regardless of the label, but I consider my style very American.