Tadashi Shoji

“When I was young, about 18 or 19, I read all the Dostoyevsky novels, which made me want to go to St. Petersburg. So I went, and I was so inspired.”

“Using a forecasting company is like going to a fortune-teller. If you believe the company and the color does not sell, who do you blame? The forecasters? No, you blame yourself.”

“Don't wear dresses that are too tight. A size number is just a number. If the fit is comfortable, it will look more elegant.”

“Time flies so quick. I remember my second year in business when Bullocks Wilshire did a whole window of my white dresses. I was so excited, I went there at night and took pictures.”

“Anyone can wear my dresses. They will look good on any figure, no matter what shape you are. I want to celebrate a woman's inner strength, to inspire real women and make them feel confident and beautiful.”

“Am I famous in Japan? I don't know, and I don't really think of myself in that way.”

“Everyone thinks the fashion business is so glamorous. It's completely the opposite.”

“I am not really brand-conscious; I pick out clothes that appeal to me regardless of the label, but I consider my style very American.”

“So many designers only sketch and leave pattern-making to others. Pattern-making is important so you know the structure. Then if someone tells me, 'I can't make a pattern from that sketch,' I can tell them, 'I will make it' and then they are quiet. If I can't make it, I don't design it.”

“I like quiet. No television cameras. I'm not the Hollywood type.”

“There's almost a T-shirt feeling to wearing my evening dresses.”

“As I get older, I find that wearing bright colors cheers me up.”

“It's a Japanese way of thinking, that I give value for my merchandise. So I don't want to sell unnecessarily expensive dresses and make just 10 or 20 and then feel satisfied. I want to design for real women who can afford my dresses.”

“I do not discriminate about size. I design dresses to accentuate a woman's positives, whether you are a size 0 or a size 3X.”

“My brother told me he was very proud of me, of the business I have built, and that gives me joy.”

“I design to make women feel confident and beautiful.”