Steve Pavlina Quotes

The following quotes come from Steve Pavlina, a personal development author, blogger and speaker.

Originally a computer programmer, Pavlina believed fashion a frivolous pursuit. Later, as his income increased and he experimented with fashion choices, he noticed how changing his outfit changed how people treated him.

After his separation from his wife, Steve started exploring his wardrobe choices, as described in his post on "learning about fashion."

These quotes come form that article, as well as other articles on his website and interviews with him.

Articles of Clothing

I don't like ties. They scream "corporate slave collar" to me, even if they're really colorful.

By getting clear about precisely why I had to reject each inappropriate item, I got better at recognizing what was likely to work. This helped me get better at pre-filtering certain items without always having to try them on.

Fashion

Fashion can be used as a means of creative self-expression, much like blogging or speaking or making raw food concoctions.

For many years I shunned fashion completely. I've long considered fashion to be a complete waste of time, a pointless distraction for those whose temporal and financial abundance greatly exceeds their intellectual abundance.

My work has more to do with synthesis and big-picture thinking vs. analyzing low-level details. [I used to] look at outfits as a complete whole. Now I see them in a whole different way. I assume that each detail is deliberate and purposeful and that it’s there to make some sort of statement. That statement may or may not align with my own creative self-expression.

One of the most important lessons I learned is that if I really want to buy clothes that look good on me, I have to raise my standards regarding what I’m willing to buy. I need to be a lot more selective, particularly when it comes to fit.

Purpose

My goal is to align the statements being made by what I wear with the messages I wish to communicate to others.

There’s no need to fake it till I make it. Faking it is completely unnecessary. I can simply give myself permission to be bad at first, knowing that I’ll eventually get good as I continue to practice. There’s no need to pretend that I know what I’m doing when I clearly don’t. It’s more honest and empowering to admit that I’m clueless and want to improve.

I noticed that when we focused on items that may not have been the best match for my creative self-expression, we ran into nothing but roadblocks...For example, we spent hours trying to find a good pair of jeans for me. But everywhere we went, something was always off — wrong sizes, wrong colors, wrong cut, wrong styles, etc. I must have tried on dozens of pairs of jeans, and something was always wrong, so I didn’t end up buying any...Perhaps we couldn’t find the right pair of jeans for me because jeans are the wrong choice for me in general.

I just enjoy the artistry of turning intangible ideas into some form of tangible expression. To me this feels like I'm sharing a piece of myself with the world.

Take decisive action. Go outside and hit the stores. And no matter what, don’t give up.

Related Reading:

Style and Sex

Quotes on Fashion

Style and Conformism

Men's Style

Teddy Girls

Ruth Gordon Quotes

Return to Enjoy Your Style's quotes section.

Return to Enjoy Your Style's home page.

Search Enjoy Your Style: