Tim Gunn

People put on certain clothes for certain reasons, I assume, when their closet is filled with clothes.

I love helping people.

Everyone has a best feature, so find clothes and accessories to accentuate those, whether it's your shoulders or your long legs!

Whoever's designing for plus-size doesn't get it. The entire garment needs to be reconceived. You can't just take a size 8 and make it larger.

But if fashion were easy, wouldn't everybody look great?

I wouldn't know what to do on a date. I don't have the time. To make a relationship work, I'd have to give something up, and I'm not so sure I'm willing to do that.

I haven't had a date in 26 years.

I had this wonderful career and thought I would retire as a teacher.

If you want to write an angry e-mail, write it but don't send it. It's based on my experience that whenever I have acted out in some manner, I have always regretted it.

I found early on in teaching, if you're too blunt an instrument, the students discredit you and think you're just being mean. They're not interested in what you have to say.

I have my flaws and my issues, past and present and who knows what will happen in the future. I want people to know I'm vulnerable too and each one of us is.

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

Does a man need to know what a peplum is? Probably not.

Men's wear is all about tailoring.

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.

With fashion, you really need to understand the aspects of construction. Not just design on an iPad.

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.

I always say I have a Socratic approach to most things that I do. I pummel people with questions, because I need to know what they're thinking, what they're trying to achieve, what they believe the final outcome is going to be.

But I will add, 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.

I love HGTV. I love the Food Network.

I learned early on in teaching how easy it is to hurt a young person and that's never my intention.

I have my mantra about silhouette, proportion, and fit. I believe that when they are in harmony and balance, you'll look great in anything.

I'm honest about expressing my opinions. At the same time, I'm diplomatic in how I do critique things if I have a negative response.

I learned quickly that if the student's perception is that you're not listening to them, and not understanding them, they discredit you.

I'm one of the biggest introverts you could ever meet.