--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Style is something you can use, and you…" description: "\"Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want.\" — David Hockney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png" --- # Style is something you can use, and you can be like a… ![“Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want.” quote by David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png) > “Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want.” [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Style is a tool for personal expression, allowing selective adoption of influences. **In simple terms:** Style is a personal toolkit. Key Takeaway Curate your aesthetic. Themes creativity self‑expression influence Mood inspired curious Type artistic advisory When to use this quote - fashion design - visual arts - branding Key Concepts artistic identity cultural borrowing Questions to Reflect On - What elements truly reflect you? - How to balance inspiration and originality? A Different Perspective Risk of losing authenticity through mimicry. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Magpies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magpies/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [What you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-want/) ## Related quotes > [Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want. The idea of the rigid style…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I'm like a magpie. I use lots of different things to build a character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lincoln/i-m-like-a-magpie-i-use-lots-of-different-things-to-build-a-character/) [Andrew Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lincoln/) > [Magazines don't have enough confidence to have their own style, so they use a borrowed style. That is shocking to me, but your perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-heisler/magazines-don-t-have-enough-confidence-to-have-their-own-style-so/) [Gregory Heisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-heisler/) > [“You’re right. I don’t know your real name. But I don’t know mine either and it’s never stopped me from knowing who I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/you-re-right-i-don-t-know-your-real-name-but-i-don-t-know-mine-either/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [When I was little, I was like a magpie, which is a bird that's attracted to shiny things. They'll build their nests with Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jordan/when-i-was-little-i-was-like-a-magpie-which-is-a-bird-that-s/) [Leslie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jordan/) > [“You certainly are a repository of useless information. How do you know all that?' David asked, with more amusement than admiration. 'I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peters/you-certainly-are-a-repository-of-useless-information-how-do-you-know/) [Elizabeth Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peters/) > [“Life is about taking what you want and giving even more. Not because you think you should, because you want to. Love isn't easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-robinson/life-is-about-taking-what-you-want-and-giving-even-more-not-because/) [Rachel Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-robinson/) > [Better off dead than giving in; not taking what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ann-duffy/better-off-dead-than-giving-in-not-taking-what-you-want/) [Carol Ann Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ann-duffy/) > [I feel a bit like a magpie attracted to shiny things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-stockholder/i-feel-a-bit-like-a-magpie-attracted-to-shiny-things/) [Jessica Stockholder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-stockholder/) > [“Women have been trained in our culture and society to ask for what we want instead of taking what we want. We've been really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/women-have-been-trained-in-our-culture-and-society-to-ask-for-what-we/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [“God is simply taking you where you do not want to go to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-s-lane/god-is-simply-taking-you-where-you-do-not-want-to-go-to-produce-in/) [Timothy S. Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-s-lane/) > [I'm like a magpie and am drawn to anything shiny, sparkly or bright and you really get that with Ted Baker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vick-hope/i-m-like-a-magpie-and-am-drawn-to-anything-shiny-sparkly-or-bright/) [Vick Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vick-hope/) > [My head was a magpie's nest lined with such bright scraps of information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/my-head-was-a-magpie-s-nest-lined-with-such-bright-scraps-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I probably live in the best province for independent filmmakers. Manitoba has a sort of thieving-magpie approach, trying to lift productions from other provinces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-maddin/i-probably-live-in-the-best-province-for-independent-filmmakers/) [Guy Maddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-maddin/) > [Ugster vinyl pumps, Partridge Family records, plastic daisy jewelry, old postcards. . . . It's a magpie Christmas market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/ugster-vinyl-pumps-partridge-family-records-plastic-daisy-jewelry-old/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) ## More by David Hockney > [ You can't believe any picture nowadays, if it's digital. You can't really believe. If you see me shaking hands with Mr. \[Barack\] Obama, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-can-t-believe-any-picture-nowadays-if-it-s-digital-you-can-t/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the first leaves are at the bottom of the trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-had-always-planned-to-make-a-large-painting-of-the-early-spring/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I've always said that the only thing a photograph is good at capturing faithfully is another flat surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-ve-always-said-that-the-only-thing-a-photograph-is-good-at/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I'm rather shocked by what I thought was simple mindedness actually. I thought they're not looking, they're not actually looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-m-rather-shocked-by-what-i-thought-was-simple-mindedness-actually-i/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You would think death was an optional extra nowadays. Nobody wants to tick that box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-would-think-death-was-an-optional-extra-nowadays-nobody-wants-to/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I live wherever I happen to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-live-wherever-i-happen-to-be/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Until I saw my drawings replayed on the iPad, I'd never seen myself draw. Someone watching me would be concentrating on the exact moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/until-i-saw-my-drawings-replayed-on-the-ipad-i-d-never-seen-myself/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You always need a bit of low-tech.You always need a pair of scissors, it seems to me. You can do better things… The high-tech,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-always-need-a-bit-of-low-tech-you-always-need-a-pair-of-scissors/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [When you are older, you realise that everything else is just nothing compared to painting and drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/when-you-are-older-you-realise-that-everything-else-is-just-nothing/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The photograph isn't good enough. It's not real enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/the-photograph-isn-t-good-enough-it-s-not-real-enough/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [In fact, I'm a bit of a slob, but I've always said my excuse, I have a higher sense of order, I can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/in-fact-i-m-a-bit-of-a-slob-but-i-ve-always-said-my-excuse-i-have-a/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Spring is very energising to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/spring-is-very-energising-to-me/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [No theoretician, no writer on art, however interesting he or she might be, could be as interesting as Picasso. A good writer on art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/no-theoretician-no-writer-on-art-however-interesting-he-or-she-might/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [How difficult it is to learn not to see like cameras, which has had such an effect on us. The camera sees everything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/how-difficult-it-is-to-learn-not-to-see-like-cameras-which-has-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [With chemical film, it was possible to alter photographs, but you had to be an expert. That's not true any more. The LA Times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/with-chemical-film-it-was-possible-to-alter-photographs-but-you-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) [Explore all 247 David Hockney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## More Fashion quotes > [“I can either be a victim—or a winner. Fuck victimhood. I don’t wear it well; it clashes with my wardrobe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-can-either-be-a-victim-or-a-winner-fuck-victimhood-i-don-t-wear-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Never in a million years would I imagine Calvin Klein flying me out to my first men's fashion show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dallas/never-in-a-million-years-would-i-imagine-calvin-klein-flying-me-out/) [Cameron Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dallas/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [No one knows whom the shoe pinches - no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-aleichem/no-one-knows-whom-the-shoe-pinches-no-one/) [Sholom Aleichem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-aleichem/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [I have always been too round to do fashion shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/i-have-always-been-too-round-to-do-fashion-shows/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [I've retired my sneakers for stilettos, baby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivica-a-fox/i-ve-retired-my-sneakers-for-stilettos-baby/) [Vivica A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivica-a-fox/) [Browse all 19,830 Fashion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hockney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fashion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-hockney-1395_fashion_style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-c_3037175.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want.” — David Hockney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Hockney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Style is something you can use,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```