Vera Wang

“I was an art history major, but never specifically contemporary. I would say where I really stopped were the abstract expressionists in the New York school.”

“I am not the sort of woman who would wear high heels with a bathing suit. Let's get that straight right now.”

“Fashion to me has become very disposable; I wanted to get back to craft, to clothes that could last.”

“Design is about point of view, and there should be some sort of woman or lifestyle or attitude in one's head as a designer. So my being able to reach the masses was something that meant a great deal to me - especially for women who could never wear Vera Wang.”

“Brides today are increasingly sensitive to the tastes, feelings and finances of their attendants.”

“I'm only waiting for Lindsay Lohan's fashion collection to come out. Ten years from now, there may be no real designers left.”

“It's for all the women who embrace my aesthetic, but can't afford a Vera Wang dress. If women can get anything out of it - a little bit of me or a lot of me, that's what's important.”

“All those years of skating and dancing have carried over. I can't design anything without thinking of how a woman's body will look and move when she's wearing it.”

“If I were to say at any point that I feel really confident or really in control, that would be a mistake. Because I don't. I always see where I didn't do things the right way.”

“The great thing about having a pool in L.A. is that I can use it year-round. And since I've always been an athlete, staying fit is very important.”

“I do think I know more about clothes than any 500 designers, because there's nothing like wearing them. You buy them, you study them, and you start to understand how they're crafted.”

“My normal routine is pretty much putting out fires all day.”

“My evening really begins when I take a long, hot bath. I light a candle, and I turn on the news and try to catch up. It's when I can breathe from the day to the night, and that means a lot to me.”

“Even the most understated ceremony involves a certain respect for ritual and pageantry. No one plays more of a significant role than the bride's attendants.”

“My mother was extremely controlled, sort of flawless. And I always tend to be a bit more hippie.”

“I've been designing since I was 8. I started sketching dresses I could wear when skating. I was always involved in all aspects of skating, not just the technique, the choreography, the music, but the visual aspects, too - what I should wear.”

“When I decided to get married at 40, I couldn't find a dress with the modernity or sophistication I wanted. That's when I saw the opportunity for a wedding gown business.”

“I wanted to define the vocabulary of a wedding both visually and intellectually. The book is about more than weddings or wedding dresses. It's a metaphor for women's lives, their creativity.”

“It takes tremendous will to compete in any athletic endeavor, so it meant going to bed early and getting my homework done in advance. I had to sacrifice things, like a social life, to be a skater at 15. But I loved skating so much that it was worth everything to me.”

“I don't live through my kids. But I do know what will happen in life, and I just want them well prepared.”