I wanted to create clothes for women in their 40s and 50s and 60s who have careers and are sexy and don't want to look like grandmothers.

When I'm not working, I'm walking.

There's a side to me that likes to make clothes for everyday. But I also think of fashion as an escape. It's like a dream. Even in an economy that isn't strong and where it's important to sell clothes, you have to make things that let people dream a little.

My mother has a very chic sense of style, but she also has high expectations for her clothes to be functional and practical.

It's important not to take all this fashion stuff too seriously, and I kind of love the idea of cheesiness.

The best and the worst thing about fashion is that anyone can do it. But because fashion can be the most unintellectual thing, you have to turn it into an intellectual exercise just for your own sanity. You have to start with a conceit.

Starting your own business and thinking about how you can grow something and fulfill both expectations and needs of your retailers and still stay exciting for the runway, you sort of become this left brain-right brain person pretty quickly.

I was not a very popular kid in high school, and I had this idea that the way that I dressed would change how liked I was. It was that kind of Pygmalion story. I think, ultimately that's probably why I became interested in fashion, its transformative power, and how it can change your identity.

Ballet teaches you how to hold yourself.

I wanted to create clothes for women in their 40s and 50s and 60s who have careers and are sexy and dont want to look like grandmothers.