Twiggy Quotations

There's no need to dress like everyone else. It's much more fun to create your own look.

Being young isn't about age, it's about being a free spirit. You can meet someone of 20 who's boring and old, or you can meet someone of 70 who's youthful and exciting. I met Fred Astaire when he was 72 and I was 21, and I fell in love with him. He certainly was a free spirit.

I like to get on with people. I don't go around being nasty, but if someone crosses me, I can be horrible back.

I've never really had a waist. Even when I was at my slimmest, my silhouette was very straight up, straight down. But I have learnt how to give myself a bit of waist by optical illusion. For this, bring on the belts.

Being a grown-up woman doesn't mean you can't look beautiful, individual and different.

I've always loved life, and I've never known what's ahead. I love not knowing what might be round the corner. I love serendipity.

Belts distract the eye from a bloated tummy, a heavy-set upper body and all manner of sins. They can be a superb way to update your wardrobe without breaking the bank, and there's no reason to stop wearing them, ever!

For me, getting older doesnt mean throwing away a favourite-coloured lipstick or a fabulous pair of boots; instead, its about harnessing all the great things I have learnt over the years about what does and doesnt suit me, and enjoying the way in which cleverly selected outfits can enhance the nice bits.

If I want to calm down, I'll buy some fabric, get a pattern, shut myself in a room and stay there for days, really happy. And at the end of it, you get a bedspread or some curtains or something to wear - it's lovely.

If you've got the body and the chutzpah, a pencil skirt is so sexy on older women. Look for ones that fall just below the knee. Think 1940s, cinched-in jackets - imagine you are Lauren Bacall on a date with Humphrey Bogart and you just absolutely have to wear very high heels.

The 40s onwards are when we can really begin to enjoy ourselves. For many women, this is when everything comes together, and they look better than ever. The great thing about getting older is you don't have to do/wear/say anything you don't want to. It wasn't until my very late 30s that I stopped worrying about what other people thought.

Sometimes I can't believe I'm going to be 60. I always say there's no point moaning about getting older, when there's nothing you can do about it. But still, I do find it quite funny. I look at that number, 60, and I think, really? Me?

I used to do my own make-up. I used to have this doll that had those big eyelashes on the top and bottom, and I think I copied her when I was doing my eyes, putting false eyelashes on the bottom as well as the top. So I came up with that look myself.

I'd love there to be more larger models, but it's just not going to happen. Designers love to design for slim girls.

The trick is to find the style that is right for you. When it comes to trying new clothes, my advice is not to take it too seriously - it's all about having fun.

I love corduroy jeans as well as vertical-striped jeans. Both are a fun switch from plain old denim. They can be slimming so long as the stripes aren't too chunky.

I think everyone should sing - it's so good for you, as it makes you breathe deeply, and it's good for you emotionally, too. It's a brilliant release way of lifting the spirits.

I don't understand people getting depressed about getting older. There is nothing you can do about it, so you might as well embrace it.

Ageing doesn't mean giving up on style and individuality; it doesn't mean abandoning fashion and living in comfy slippers and flannel knickers.

From as far back as I can remember, I was always insecure about my looks, whether it was my flat chest, my skinny legs, or how to cope with my body as it changed. With hindsight, I can see I was different. I was given a body that worked for photographic modelling and a photogenic face.

I have an iPod, but I do still love CDs. There's something nice and tangible about a CD. I'm a mixture of old and new - I love my sewing machine, but I've also embraced new technology. The iPad is what did it for me - it's extraordinary.

As every teenage girl, I was absolutely obsessed with The Beatles, and the first record I bought was 'Please Please Me.' I'd have been 13 at the time.

The way I looked when I started modelling - I was a skinny schoolgirl, stuffing tissues into my little 32A bra. I wasn't trying to be that thin; I was perfectly healthy, but still - that look is a total impossibility for women over the age of 20. Fashion has a lot to answer for, doesn't it?

I prefer 100 per cent cotton Ts. They are kinder to lumps and bumps than figure-hugging stretchy Lycra ones and feel nicer against the skin. Extra-long-sleeved T-shirts are a lifesaver for me. I wear them either underneath a shirt with the sleeve pulled out of the cuff, or underneath gypsy tops, tunic tops and waistcoats.

Back in the '60s, there was a car sticker that read, 'Forget Oxfam, Feed Twiggy,' but I ate like a horse.

I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable.

I was very skinny, but that was just my natural build. I always ate sensibly - being thin was in my genes.

Fluted sleeves or any sleeve that flares out before coming in again at the wrist are very feminine and a great way to distract from the dreaded 'bingo wings.'

Tailored jackets with jeans is a great look for all ages. Dress up with a heel and pretty shirt, or just wear a smart T-shirt under the jacket.

You won't often find me in a pair of killer heels: my heel height doesn't rise above two and a half inches, as I would just fall over!

I was always telling girls who said that they wanted to be the 'next' Kate Moss or the 'next' Gisele that it wasn't possible, because the 'next' girl wasn't going to look like anybody else; she would be somebody unique. If you look at all the great models... they all have an individual look.

Ballet pumps are the dream shoes because they are so comfortable. They look great both with jeans and summer dresses; and you can even wear the right pair with an evening gown.

They go on about banning size zero, but I think Hollywood stars are the worst perpetrators. Most models are naturally long and gangly, while a lot of these young girls in Hollywood have gone on extreme diets. Their concave chests and bony arms are terrifying. It's scary to think that normal teenagers are tempted to copy them.

Even before I was discovered in 1966, I used to make my own clothes. I learned how to sew early on, and it's still my passion now. I constantly have ideas in my head about clothes so jumped at the chance to do my own collection and am very hands-on. Everything I design, I wear and I love.

I can't live without my cup of tea. When I was a judge on 'America's Next Top Model,' they had to put me in a hotel where I had my own kitchen, because they can't make tea in America. I was happy then because I could make my own.

Knitwear can play a vital part in layering. The simplicity of a lightweight cardigan makes it one of the best ways to layer outfits. I love granddad cardis for winter, worn over a vintage lace shirt, waistcoat and full skirt with slouchy boots.

I don't like talking about which bits I like or don't like about my body. Everybody has something they're not happy with, and my only advice would be, 'Do something about it - exercise or eat less, but don't do nothing!' Find ways to enhance the good bits and camouflage the bad bits.

Sleep is one of the great pleasures of life. Designing my bed linen line seemed like a natural progression for me. Everyone loves getting into a bed made up with beautiful linen. I love sewing, I love fabrics, and I love sleeping.

Wearing a bold print gets harder as you get older. It's safer to stick to subtle prints or block colours. I have always found prints quite tricky. My daughter Carly, who is on the design team at Stella McCartney, is obsessed with them.

What you wear for work should be comfortable and empowering. If you're working in business, your outfit should mean business. If I go to meet somebody about an acting job, or something creative, then I'll be in my jeans. For me, overdressing is my biggest fear.

I don't like it when people say, 'You're 45, so you should be wearing X and never Y.' For me, dressing is about attitude, not age.

For special occasions, I love pretty dresses - but nothing too frou-frou!

It is no longer acceptable to ignore the suffering, and designers must take responsibility for the way that their fur is produced.

My weakness is chocolate - especially butterscotch and nut varieties.

We all have bits that we don't like, but you don't have to be a size 10 to look wonderful.

Yes, black is slimming, but it's not always youthful. The right tone of red, however, is flattering on all women.

I love exercise, but I find it boring doing the same thing all the time, so I fluctuate between going to the gym, doing Pilates, and taking dance lessons.

Even if your bosoms are your best asset, deep round-neck or scoop-neck Ts can be too revealing. Offset this flash of gorgeousness by covering up your arms with a little cardi that has sleeves to the elbow.

I think I had a fur coat that someone bought me from Portobello Market back in the 1960s, but I think as soon as you think about it, what it is you're wearing, make that connection, then you realise it's just not right. I don't lecture people about it, but it's not something I'd ever wear.

I'm grateful for my lines of wisdom. Of course, there are days when I think: 'Oh my gawd, I look a bit tired.' But I can pull it together if I have to.

My golden rules for looking good are to moisturise to ridiculousness with a really rich moisturiser. And I always take my make-up off before going to bed.

Jamie Oliver's books are the best. I love Jamie. Bless him!

I eat healthily because that's the way I prefer to eat, and I'm sure it helps keep the weight off.

I love flat shoes, more so than heels. One of my obsessions is men's co-respondent lace-ups.

I love Kate Moss. I've worked with her a couple of times, and she is a great girl, really funny and easy to work with.

I was a very, very shy, insecure teenager.

The key with a full-skirt shape is to balance it out with a great figure-hugging top.

I've had albums out since the 1970s. I was in a musical, 'The Boy Friend,' directed by Ken Russell, and I was on Broadway in 'My One And Only' with Tommy Tune, so I've always been a singer, but I suppose people think of my modelling more.

My elder sister used to get the fashion magazines, and I would go through them and find things I liked and buy fabric and copy them. But I hated what I looked like. I mean, I was sooo skinny.

My one big rule for the over-40s is don't try to dress like an 18-year-old. It's possible to be 'on-trend' when you're older - you just have to look for the right stuff. You don't have to spend a fortune, either.

M&S clothes just get better and better, year after year. I'm always begging for stuff from every shoot we do.

My relationship with M&S continues to be an exciting journey, from modelling to designing my online range.

At sixteen, I was a funny, skinny little thing, all eyelashes and legs. And then, suddenly people told me it was gorgeous. I thought they had gone mad.

The sixties were a time when ordinary people could do extraordinary things . . . !

Confusion is the best form of communication. It's left to be unexplained.

Always be natural. Putting on airs will make a giggle out of you. Be yourself and if you don't know something say so.

I want to continue to try and break the barrier between male and female.

I used to be a thing; I'm a person now.

I was very, very underdeveloped for my age, I hated what I looked like, so I thought everyone had gone stark raving mad.

You can't be a clothes hanger for your entire life.

Fashion should be stylish and fun.

[On her thinness:] It's not what you'd call a figure, is it?

I ate like a horse when I was younger, and not very sensibly, though no one ever believes that.

Christianity, like most religions, works with fear. Sins can be confessed and you are 'Clean again' and can start to sin again without thinking about your old sins. We believe that people should ask themselves why they sinned. They should show some responsibility.

I’m just mad for San Francisco. It is like London and Paris stacked on top of each other.

I love exercise but I find it boring doing the same thing all the time, so I fluctuate between going to the gym, doing Pilates and taking dance lessons.

Wearing a bold print gets harder as you get older. Its safer to stick to subtle prints or block colours. I have always found prints quite tricky. My daughter Carly, who is on the design team at Stella McCartney, is obsessed with them.

Want to continue to try and break the barrier between male and female. If you want to do that, that's fine. At our shows, it's like a Halloween party, which isn't a bad thing. I'd like to see more of it actually.

We want to raise the children the parents aren't raising. I think we want to press individuality on people, though that doesn't necessarily mean being like us. But, it doesn't mean that if you come dressed like us that you aren't being yourself.

If you just say nothing, there is no way they can make you talk.

I didn't really know about Marilyn Manson - it's not my sort of music, not exactly the sort of thing I would curl up and listen to!

What happened to me in the Sixties was so major and so worldwide and so huge, there's no way I can repeat it. But in a way, I had nothing to do with it, it just took me over. It was bizarre, it was weird, and I had no control over it. I don't think anyone could have planned what happened to me.

It's hard to see how anyone can fail to care about innocent children and animals being blown up by landmines.

Can you imagine wot it was like. All the girls gettin' luvly figgers and me stayin' flat as a pancake? It was no fun, I tell you.

Life is about making choices: you can either spend three quid on a glossy magazine or you can spend it clearing three square metres of minefield and help give people their lives back. As simple as that.