Granted, reading THEGENTLECLASS probably equips you with more than enough style knowledge to pass an end-of-season exam. But if you’re the sartorial sage in your peer group, setting the agenda and the dress code for everything from a business-casual office to a few days in Ibiza, then you could quickly run low on modish pearls of wisdom.

In which case, breathe a sweet sigh of relief, as we’re here to provide you with a rundown of our favorite fashion quotes for men — all of which you can pass off as your own musings after a few beers down your local.

1. “Shoes transform your body language and attitude. They lift you physically and emotionally.” — Christian Louboutin

2. “Remind yourself. Nobody built like you, you design yourself.” — Jay Z

3. “Fashion is what you adopt when you don’t know who you are.” — Quentin Crisp

4. “To achieve the nonchalance, which is absolutely necessary for a man, one article at least must not match.” — Hardy Amies

5. “Being perfectly well-dressed gives one a tranquillity that no religion can bestow.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. “If people turn to look at you on the street, you are not well dressed, but either too stiff, too tight, or too fashionable.” — Beau Brummel

7. “If you’re asking someone for money wear a tie.” — Unknown

8. “People always ask me what the trends are, but I’m not a believer in trends. Individuality is more important to me, to stand out and have the confidence to wear something you’re comfortable in – it just happens. I’m comfortable wearing a suit.” — David Gandy

9. “Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose.” — Lauren Hutton

10. “Fashion is a playground up until a certain age. But then you have to find your own signature and your own style.” — Nicolas Ghesquière

11. “Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.” — Marc Jacobs

12. “Fashion is more about feel than science.” — Pharrell Williams

13. “As you age, it’s quite important to pay attention to how you look and to take steps towards ensuring that you stay happy with how you look. And grooming, whether you just use a moisturiser or go the whole hog at a salon, can make that much-needed difference.” — Saif Ali Khan

14. “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” — Orson Welles

15. “Fashions fade, style is eternal.” — Yves Saint Laurent

16. “Every man should have a magnifying mirror. If you look good magnified, you are set to go” — Tom Ford

17. “People will stare. Make it worth their while.” — Harry Winston

18. “Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness, simply didn’t know where to go shopping.” — Bo Derek

19. “We define a metrosexual as someone who really takes care of themselves in terms of grooming and style. There is nothing wrong with that. But I think you need to have some other values. It’s cool to incorporate some traditional values into metrosexuality. Then it becomes a good lifestyle.” — Frank Vincent

20. “To be noticed without striving to be noticed, this is what elegance is about.” — Luciano Barbera

21. “I like nice clothes, whether they’re dodgy or not.” — David Beckham

22. “Create your own visual style… Let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.” — Orson Welles

23. “The well-dressed man is he whose clothes you never notice.” — William Somerset Maugham

24. “Make it simple, but significant.” — Don Draper

25. “The difference between style and fashion is quality.” — Giorgio Armani

26. “Dirt makes a man look masculine. Let your hair blow in the wind… All you have to do is look neat when you have to look neat.” — Hedy Lamarr

27. “Music has shaped men’s fashion and transposed in a playful and witty manner its riding or military heritage. It is difficult to figure out who leads but music and fashion are connected genetically.” — Hedi Slimane

28. “If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better.” — Anna Wintour

29. “Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment.” — Alexander McQueen

30. “Elegance is not standing out, but being remembered.” — Giorgio Armani

31. “I often take a brand new suit or hat and throw it up against the wall a few times to get that stiff, square newness out of it.” — Fred Astaire

32. “People say, ‘What do you mean you want to help the world, but you’re so concerned about fashion?’ It’s illegal to be naked. It is something that is extremely important.” — Kanye West

33. “Putting on a beautifully designed suit elevates my spirit, extols my sense of self, and helps define me as a man to whom details matter.” — Gay Talese

34. “You don’t find a style. A style finds you.” — Keith Richards

35. “My style – it’s black and it’s expensive.” — Mark Healey

36. “Dress like you’ve made something of yourself in the world, even if you haven’t.” — Unknown

37. “Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he’s got it all.” — James Brown

38. “A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic.” — George Bernard Shaw

39. “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.” — Gianni Versace

40. “Looking good isn’t self-importance; it’s self-respect.” — Charles Hix