A biography for Michael Bastianhasn’t been written yet.
“All it takes is for one person to say, 'Wow, that looks great on you' - and then they wear it for the next 10 years. That's the great thing about guys. They just need that little bit of encouragement.”
“Good clothes are good clothes, and they don't need whales and tricks and too many jokes. Sometimes you just need something to wear.”
“When you live in a city where you're always in and out of a car or a building, I feel it's... better to treat a heavier, tweedier sport coat almost as you would outerwear.”
“I'm a New Yorker, so I don't own a car, but I rent a lot of cars.”
“I don't know if I would use that word, 'trailblazer.' That implies that this huge crowd followed me, and that certainly is not the case!”
“I prefer simpler shirts, like a solid oxford or pinstripe, and with a solid cashmere crewneck or V-neck.”
“Celebrities, the beach, and Coachella, that's what everyone thinks about when they think of Los Angeles. Then you see these people living in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills, and they're so chic and have so much style.”
“I have a very wonderful bath ritual.”
“I'm actually really obsessed with folk art.”
“Most guys open their closet and tend to wear about 10% of what they own - and they wear that 10% over and over again. So the trick is to be honest with yourself and figure out what that 10% is.”
“I just love walking around the Upper East Side and seeing those guys who didn't just take an extra 10 minutes in the morning to get ready, but an extra 40 minutes.”
“My big mission in life is to get guys out of those big, baggy board shorts down to their knees. It always looks like they're trying to hide something, like skinny legs.”
“I've always had this thing for swimming pools - I think they're much sexier and far more glamorous than the beach, in a way. You dress differently when you're spending a day at an amazing pool than you would dress for the beach.”
“I think women are much more open to new ideas but approach a line more from a more personal and skeptical place - you need to seduce them into your clothes, whereas most men just like to be told what they should be wearing. Women are a bit like cats and men like dogs in that respect when it comes to clothes.”
“Edie and Lew Wasserman were chic as hell.”
“Honestly, I'm not so much of a tech guy.”
“My goal is to elevate the whole casual end of the guy's wardrobe.”
“I'm always asking, 'How do you give a guy a new reason to buy a polo?'”
“Gray feels like the city.”
“I've always had this idea that I would love to do a Boston-inspired collection, whether it's for my own line or whether it's for Gant.”