--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to…" description: "\"“This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to have been invented as a final test of grace, and to show that there was nothing too ridiculous for fashion to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg" --- # This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to have been… ![“This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to have been invented as a final test of grace, and to show that there was nothing too ridiculous for fashion to consecrate.” quote by Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg) > ““This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to have been invented as a final test of grace, and to show that there was nothing too ridiculous for fashion to consecrate.”” [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fashion can embrace the absurd, turning even the most ridiculous ideas into accepted style. **In simple terms:** Fashion absorbs the ridiculous. Key Takeaway Embrace creativity, even when it seems absurd. Themes creativity fashion culture absurdity Mood playful ironic Type observational literary When to use this quote - design work - runway shows - social media trends Key Concepts aesthetic theory social norms Questions to Reflect On - When does novelty become meaningful? - How does absurdity influence cultural standards? A Different Perspective Not all absurd ideas become lasting trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) ## Related quotes > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [It is not without trepidation that I have appropriated the codes of the Sublime and the Picturesque in my work. After all, serious photographers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pfahl/it-is-not-without-trepidation-that-i-have-appropriated-the-codes-of/) [John Pfahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pfahl/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [It seemed too good to be true. That's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-smith/it-seemed-too-good-to-be-true-that-s-grace/) [Judah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-smith/) > [The least grace is a better security for heaven than the greatest gifts or privileges whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/the-least-grace-is-a-better-security-for-heaven-than-the-greatest/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“The mercy of God's grace guides me in the right path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-mercy-of-god-s-grace-guides-me-in-the-right-path/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Just take one thing out and the whole palace, the whole edifice of the human mind collapses. Take effort out of it and desiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/just-take-one-thing-out-and-the-whole-palace-the-whole-edifice-of-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“THE GRACE OF GOD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-grace-of-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [frustration, complication and misery are available in abundance, but so is God's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/frustration-complication-and-misery-are-available-in-abundance-but-so/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“In this life, only one thing is needful ; God's grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-this-life-only-one-thing-is-needful-god-s-grace/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [It's empowering to find a workout that builds strength and grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-helen-bowers/it-s-empowering-to-find-a-workout-that-builds-strength-and-grace/) [Mary Helen Bowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-helen-bowers/) > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/cheap-grace-is-the-preaching-of-forgiveness-without-requiring/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## More by Honoré de Balzac > [“Oh, my friend, when you love, love a woman whom you are sure that you can love always. Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Explore all 793 Honoré de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## 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": "“This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to have been invented as a final test of grace, and to show that there was nothing too ridiculous for fashion to consecrate.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Honoré de Balzac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-have-been-invented-as-a-final/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fashion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-have-been-invented-as-a-final/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/honor-de-balzac-197_fashion_this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-h_252408.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to have been invented as a final test of grace, and to show that there…” — Honoré de Balzac", "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": "Honoré de Balzac", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This costume, utterly uncouth, seemed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-have-been-invented-as-a-final/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/this-costume-utterly-uncouth-seemed-to-have-been-invented-as-a-final/#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 } } ] } ```