ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

15 Pieces Of Style Advice From Oscar Wilde

15 Pieces Of Style Advice From Oscar Wilde

15 Pieces Of Style Advice From Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde had a dress sense just as sharp as his wit. And, as you well know, he was no slouch when it came to a zinger or two.

Indeed, Wilde's eye for sartorial detail was unmatched, predicting the daring way in which gentlemen would dress even a century later (minus the stockings, of course), while also employing this trademark candidness on occasion to scrutinise the trends, socialites and fads of his day.

And going by the 15 pieces of advice we've accrued from the great man's works below, it seems he's still bang on the money.

(Images: Rex Features, Wikipedia)

1.

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”


2.

”A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.”


3.

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.”


4.

“Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear."


5.

“Illusion is the first of all pleasures.”


6.

“Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not.”


7.

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”


8.

“It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But it is better to be good than to be ugly.”


9.

“Everything popular is wrong.”


10.

“I have the simplest of tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”


11.

“Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm.”


12.

“You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.”


13.

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”


14.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”


15.

“A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.”