“Traditionally women have been more reticent to acknowledge their ambition and to say it with pride. So I like having people who work for us who are ambitious, engaged, respectful. Mis-hiring is a huge mistake. It’s a tremendous opportunity cost throwing the position to the wrong person.”

New media is an amazing form of direct marketing in that you really get a sense of who your customer is, and you also get to know those people who may not be your customers yet but are aspirational and are hoping to be.

Accessories are crucial. A great bag and a piece of statement jewelry are the fastest way to elevate an otherwise understated look.

There are enough stories about my family. We have all been in the public eye.

Fashion is meant to be fun.

In both business and personal life, I’ve always found that travel inspires me more than anything else I do. Evidence of the languages, cultures, scenery, food, and design sensibilities that I discover all over the world can be found in every piece of my jewelry.

If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit.

I’ve never had a sense of entitlement. I saw how hard my father worked for his money, and it was always made very clear to me that things wouldn’t just be given to me.

Everything about mediocrity kills me.

Work is changing for men as much as it is for women.

I don’t own a blowdryer – I don’t know how to use it. Most mornings, I walk to work with my hair wet.

Truly saddened by the loss of one of the greatest fashion icons of all time. Oscar de la Renta will be greatly missed.

I generally wake up, exercise and read through a huge amount of newspapers. I get to the office somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 – my brothers and I are always the first ones in.

I probably not as likely to say what’s on my mind, and I think most people aren’t. It’s not something I would want to always be doing. So that’s why I’m not a politician.

My mom grew up in the Soviet Bloc, and she was a Tiger Mom. We didn’t get away with much.

The beauty of America is people can do what they like.

I’m so grateful to my parents for my upbringing and for all of the opportunities that I was provided with, but I also learned at a young age that success is not given, it is earned and that has always been something that motivates me.

Your company should act as a springboard for ambitious employees, not a set of shackles.

I’m certainly not aware of suppressing more sophisticated ambitions.

Throughout my lifetime I’ve left pieces of my heart here and there. And now, there’s almost barely enough to stay alive. But I force a smile, knowing that my ambition far exceeded my talent.

How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!

I have a personal ambition to live my life honestly and honor the true love that I’ve had and also the people I’ve had around me.

Politically, the goal of today’s dominant trend is statism. Philosophically, the goal is the obliteration of reason; psychologically, it is the erosion of ambition.

I want to make pop cool again, and the only way I can do that is by being ambitious and grand.

We don’t wish for the easy stuff. We wish for big things. Things that are ambitious, out of reach.