Tracee Ellis Ross Quotes

I paint and sculpt to get a grip on reality... to protect myself.

As I got older I looked at the world and I realised, we need armour. So my jewellery and clothes became my armour

My sunglasses are like my guitar.

Clothing shouldn't be a societal shackle. It should be art and truth and a way for us to show the world what we want out of it. It's environmental armor.

There is nothing wrong with fashion - it should be a beautiful expression of who we are.

I like doing stuff like, for instance, in the 'Leave the Night On' video, I had on a plain white T-shirt. I just wanted to do something to it to make it a little different, so I just cut a big strip out of the side, from the shirttail up to my armpit, and cut a big red strip out of another T-shirt and just sewed it in there.

I love clothes so much. I feel like whatever I wear is an insight for other people to get to see who I am, or for me to portray how I'm feeling.

I wear weird-colored toenail polish - like blue, green, or yellow. If it's strange-looking, I will wear it.

I have a vocabulary in clothing. It's like a whole language.

I went through this phase of Spandex, high heels, and fur coats when I was my late teens and early twenties; before then, I lived in overalls and baggy T-shirts.

My shoes are an expression of me, how I'm feeling. Some nights I might wear some crazy stuff. Some nights I might be more regular.

I love clothing and waking up every day and figuring out what I want to say with my clothing.

I would go to games like I go to dinner. If I come and wear something crazy, I'm just trying to be myself.

To wear a beautiful new garment is like wearing a new idea, and I see them as the same thing. Opening my closet is a form of meditation. I pick whatever I feel is right for the day.

Even though I'm really into fashion, I'm into fashion as a means of creative expression. I dress myself according to my personal creative expression... I try to keep it comfortable. I try to keep it simple.

If you leave home and, at least some of the time, someone doesn't tell you that they don't like your outfit, you're not doing it right. You're not trying. You're not taking enough risks. You know, somebody should tell you they don't really like you're outfit. I enjoy when people say that, actually.

I do rock the sunglasses. To a rude point, at times. But I don't care, it's my first defence. I'm shy, so I've gotta have something. I need some protection, man.

For me, style wasn't something that was a luxury or an option, really: It was a necessity. I knew that there were certain negative stereotypes that I faced because of the way I looked. For me, suits and style became social armour.

Through fashion, it's possible to express deep values of one's creative talent and also the values that are expected of society.

Fashion is so important to me. I've always spoken about it in my music.

I do fashion to tell a narrative.

I conditioned myself many years ago that nobody could hurt me.

I use my clothing choices as a way to express how I feel.

Makeup and fashion are a very blatant way of expressing who you are because it's the first thing people see. With music, it's more personal, where people really are trying to get into your head and learn about who you are.

I think you can tell stories and give perspectives and yet still keep stuff for yourself, too. I keep a lot of my life private, even in a public forum like writing.