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

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

I started at the very highest level so the upper end is something I know very well. I know it instinctively. But all the years I was designing, it frustrated me that I could reach so few women.

I like the gritty parts of fashion, the design, the studio, the pictures.

People get very trapped where they are. When they hear ‘fashion’ they get intimidated, particularly at the upper end because it’s so elitist.

There was no relationship between a wedding dress and fashion. There was no good taste, either. I realized that I could make an impression in terms of changing and readdressing the whole industry of bridal.

Is she going to, or has she done it? Has it happened? What is the story here?

I was trying to manage school and training for the Olympics and ended up not doing well at either. That was a big lesson in my life. My mother expected both.

It’s a remarkable exercise to sit and look at your own work over the years.

As the mother of two daughters, I have great respect for women. And I don’t ever want to lose that.

Let’s be realistic, how many people are buying a $2,000 skirt? I love to design things that people can actually buy. I’m staggered by what a boot costs today.

A bride should look at everything she possibly can…just so she can experiment and see what makes her really feel beautiful or glamorous or classical or whatever she desires to be on that particular day.

To me, eyewear goes way beyond being a prescription. It’s like makeup. It’s the most incredible accessory. The shape of a frame or the color of lenses can change your whole appearance.

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.

When brides ask me, “What’s the best advice you can give me on my wedding day?” I always have the same answer: “Be yourself.” Someone’s marrying you, they love you for who you are, and they don’t want you to be someone else.

I’m not really a girl who likes to go out to lunch or cocktails or store openings.

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

My childhood years were a balance of dark and light.

God takes pleasure to see you take your little steps; and like a good father who holds his child by the hand, He will accommodate His steps to yours and will be content to go no faster than you. Why do you worry?

One thing I know for sure about raising children is that every single day a kid needs discipline. But also every single day a kid needs a break.

When the kids are laughing in the audience, I tear up, I’m so happy I did a nice thing.

My mother often says that she could never have done it if I had been the youngest, if she had other small children she had to cart around New York City for my auditions and go-sees (modeling auditions) and stuff.

With the amount of money I have, it’s difficult raising children the way I was raised.

Listen kid, take my advice, never hate a song that has sold half a million copies.

I wasn’t a kid growing up thinking, ‘One day I’ll get an Oscar and make a speech.’ That wasn’t on my mind.