--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While clothes with pictures and/or…" description: "\"While clothes with pictures and/or writing on them are not entirely an invention of the modern age, they are an unpleasant indication of the general st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/fran-lebowitz-690_age_while-clothes-with-pictures-and-or-writi_2600828.jpg" --- # While clothes with pictures and/or writing on them are not… ![“While clothes with pictures and/or writing on them are not entirely an invention of the modern age, they are an unpleasant indication of the general state of things. ... I mean, be realistic. If people don't want to listen to you, what makes you think they want to hear from your sweater?” quote by Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/fran-lebowitz-690_age_while-clothes-with-pictures-and-or-writi_2600828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/fran-lebowitz-690_age_while-clothes-with-pictures-and-or-writi_2600828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9e/fran-lebowitz-690_age_while-clothes-with-pictures-and-or-writi_2600828.jpg) > “While clothes with pictures and/or writing on them are not entirely an invention of the modern age, they are an unpleasant indication of the general state of things. ... I mean, be realistic. If people don't want to listen to you, what makes you think they want to hear from your sweater?” [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Clothing with messages reflects a superficial attempt to communicate, often failing to engage listeners. **In simple terms:** Printed messages on clothes rarely get heard. Key Takeaway Choose substance over flashy statements. Themes communication authenticity culture Mood cynical wry Type observational satirical When to use this quote - Marketing - personal branding - political protest - social media Key Concepts Semiotics media criticism Questions to Reflect On - Do you wear your ideas or just display them? - How can you convey meaning without relying on apparel? A Different Perspective Bold statements can alienate rather than inform. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Clothes Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes-pictures-1943608/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Hear Sweater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-sweater-1943607/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Indication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indication/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Make you think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-you-think/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-age/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Sweater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweater/) [Sweaters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweaters/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unpleasant Indication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpleasant-indication-1943609/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If people don't want to listen to you, what makes you think they want to hear from your sweater?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/if-people-don-t-want-to-listen-to-you-what-makes-you-think-they-want/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [If you judge people by looks 'clothes pictures and there past, who the hell r u FN GOD!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-judge-people-by-looks-clothes-pictures-and-there-past-who-the/) [Kevin Mccarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [If you were ever dumped after knitting a guy a sweater, consider the possibility that the problem was with the sweater, not you. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/if-you-were-ever-dumped-after-knitting-a-guy-a-sweater-consider-the/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [My high school girlfriend would ask if I finally learned how to unbutton the back of a sweater!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breckin-meyer/my-high-school-girlfriend-would-ask-if-i-finally-learned-how-to/) [Breckin Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breckin-meyer/) > [A tip: if you're invited to your friend's country club to go the lost and found bin and pretend that you left something there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-birnbach/a-tip-if-you-re-invited-to-your-friend-s-country-club-to-go-the-lost/) [Lisa Birnbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-birnbach/) > [-You forgot something important! -What? -It's under my sweater! -WHAT?! -Me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/you-forgot-something-important-what-it-s-under-my-sweater-what-me/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I love seeing people's reactions to gifts that I've created from my line, such as my gold horn ring, bottle openers, my 'Fallen' leather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-wearstler/i-love-seeing-people-s-reactions-to-gifts-that-i-ve-created-from-my/) [Kelly Wearstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-wearstler/) > [First I made a dress because I was pregnant and I wanted to be the most beautiful pregnant woman. Then I made a sweater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/first-i-made-a-dress-because-i-was-pregnant-and-i-wanted-to-be-the/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) > [When I got to Grinnell College, I was part of the black turtleneck sweater and Camel cigarette crowd of poets and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coyote/when-i-got-to-grinnell-college-i-was-part-of-the-black-turtleneck/) [Peter Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coyote/) > [Some friends of mine got me a sweater for my birthday. I'd have preferred a moaner or a screamer, but the sweater was OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/some-friends-of-mine-got-me-a-sweater-for-my-birthday-i-d-have/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Middle age is when, whenever you go on holiday, you pack a sweater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-norden/middle-age-is-when-whenever-you-go-on-holiday-you-pack-a-sweater/) [Denis Norden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-norden/) > [There's something about a Christmas sweater that will always make me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/there-s-something-about-a-christmas-sweater-that-will-always-make-me/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) > [Dramatic art in her opinion is knowing how to fill a sweater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/dramatic-art-in-her-opinion-is-knowing-how-to-fill-a-sweater/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) > [Clothing should be like food. There should never be a $5000 sweater. You know what should cost $5000? A car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/clothing-should-be-like-food-there-should-never-be-a-5000-sweater-you/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [I used to buy everything at garage sales. It was hard to give up! I’d be like, ‘But this crazy sweater is amazing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-meester/i-used-to-buy-everything-at-garage-sales-it-was-hard-to-give-up-i-d/) [Leighton Meester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-meester/) ## More by Fran Lebowitz > [Why not have your first baby at sixty, when your husband is already dead and your career is over? Then you can really devote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/why-not-have-your-first-baby-at-sixty-when-your-husband-is-already/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I've never had the experience of being edited and never will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-ve-never-had-the-experience-of-being-edited-and-never-will/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I think humor is warmer, and wit is colder. Wit is judgment, whereas humor invites some sort of response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-think-humor-is-warmer-and-wit-is-colder-wit-is-judgment-whereas/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Communists all seem to wear small caps, a look I consider better suited to tubes of toothpaste than to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/communists-all-seem-to-wear-small-caps-a-look-i-consider-better/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [“lack, or loutish and crass kollective is a program dedicated to the proposition that vulgarity and bad taste are an inalienable right. the lackies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/lack-or-loutish-and-crass-kollective-is-a-program-dedicated-to-the/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I figure you have the same chance of winning the lottery whether you play or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-figure-you-have-the-same-chance-of-winning-the-lottery-whether-you/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [ \[Friendships\] are easy to get out of compared to love affairs, but they are not easy to get out of compared to, say, jail. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/friendships-are-easy-to-get-out-of-compared-to-love-affairs-but-they/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Smoking is, as far as I'm concerned, the entire point of being an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/smoking-is-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-the-entire-point-of-being-an-adult/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [If you want to get ahead in this world get a lawyer -- not a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/if-you-want-to-get-ahead-in-this-world-get-a-lawyer-not-a-book/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [When it comes to sports I am not particularly interested. Generally speaking, I look upon them as dangerous and tiring activities performed by people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/when-it-comes-to-sports-i-am-not-particularly-interested-generally/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [The first time I ever saw platform shoes in the '70s, I knew they'd been revived from the '40s, and I felt sickened. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/the-first-time-i-ever-saw-platform-shoes-in-the-70s-i-knew-they-d/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Children ask better questions than adults. "May I have a cookie?" "Why is the sky blue?" and "What does a cow say?" are far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/children-ask-better-questions-than-adults-may-i-have-a-cookie-why-is/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [ I do not think everyone is created equal. In fact, I know they're not. \[The Constitution\] means that everyone should have the same laws… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-do-not-think-everyone-is-created-equal-in-fact-i-know-they-re-not/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [When I fly, I'm never afraid the plane is going to crash. But there have often been times when I was afraid it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/when-i-fly-i-m-never-afraid-the-plane-is-going-to-crash-but-there/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Smoking is, if not my life, then at least my hobby. I love to smoke. Smoking is fun. Smoking is cool. Smoking is, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/smoking-is-if-not-my-life-then-at-least-my-hobby-i-love-to-smoke/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) [Explore all 408 Fran Lebowitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "While clothes with pictures and/or writing on them are not entirely an invention of the modern age, they are an unpleasant indication of the general state of things. ... I mean, be realistic. 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