--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Clothes are never a frivolity: they…" description: "\"Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something.\" — James Laver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png" --- # Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something. ![“Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something.” quote by James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png) > “Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something.” [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Clothing is a non‑verbal language that conveys social, cultural, and personal messages. **In simple terms:** Clothes communicate meaning. Key Takeaway Choose attire that reflects your intent. Themes identity communication culture Mood thoughtful analytical Type observational educational When to use this quote - interviews - first impressions - branding - cultural events Key Concepts semiotics social signaling Questions to Reflect On - How does your wardrobe affect how you’re perceived? - Can style express authenticity? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on appearance can lead to superficial judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Clothing style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothing-style/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Frivolity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frivolity/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something, and that something is to a large extent outside the control of our conscious minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-always-mean-something-and-that/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-de-givenchy/the-dress-must-follow-the-body-of-a-woman-not-the-body-following-the/) [Hubert de Givenchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-de-givenchy/) > [You can be the chicest thing in the world in a T-shirt and jeans - it's up to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/you-can-be-the-chicest-thing-in-the-world-in-a-t-shirt-and-jeans-it-s/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [I urge you children to be patient with your parents. If they seem to be out of touch on such vital issues as dating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/i-urge-you-children-to-be-patient-with-your-parents-if-they-seem-to/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Being perfectly well-dressed gives a feeling of tranquillity that religion is powerless to bestow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/being-perfectly-well-dressed-gives-a-feeling-of-tranquillity-that/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-woolman-chase/fashion-can-be-bought-style-one-must-possess/) Edna Woolman Chase > [No change in musical style will survive unless it is accompanied by a change in clothing style. Rock is to dress up to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/no-change-in-musical-style-will-survive-unless-it-is-accompanied-by-a/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [As you know, the business is cyclic with styles. It's no different from clothing styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juice-newton/as-you-know-the-business-is-cyclic-with-styles-it-s-no-different-from/) [Juice Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juice-newton/) > [Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/fashion-is-not-something-that-exists-in-dresses-only/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Fashion is in the sky, in the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/fashion-is-in-the-sky-in-the-street/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [I have heard with admiring submission the experience of the lady who declared that the sense of being well dressed gives a feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-have-heard-with-admiring-submission-the-experience-of-the-lady-who/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You can tell what was the best year of your father's life, because they seem to freeze that clothing style and ride it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/you-can-tell-what-was-the-best-year-of-your-father-s-life-because/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [Dressing well is a form of good manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/dressing-well-is-a-form-of-good-manners/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [I am a big fan of music and clothing style of the 1960s. Whether in England or the United States, I like everything from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-am-a-big-fan-of-music-and-clothing-style-of-the-1960s-whether-in/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [Lord, send Your life throughout the entire church. Visit Your church; restore sound doctrine and holy, earnest living. Take away from professing Christians their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/lord-send-your-life-throughout-the-entire-church-visit-your-church/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More by James Laver > [The erogenous zone is always shifting, and it is the business of fashion to pursue it, without ever catching it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/the-erogenous-zone-is-always-shifting-and-it-is-the-business-of/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [If we could understand the full significance of a woman's hat we could prophesy her clothes for the next year, the interior decoration of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/if-we-could-understand-the-full-significance-of-a-woman-s-hat-we/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Ten years before its time, a fashion is indecent; ten years after, it is hideous; but a century after, it is romantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/ten-years-before-its-time-a-fashion-is-indecent-ten-years-after-it-is/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Nothing is more revealing of an age than its hypocrisies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/nothing-is-more-revealing-of-an-age-than-its-hypocrisies/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Clothes are inevitable. They are nothing less than the furniture of the mind made visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-inevitable-they-are-nothing-less-than-the-furniture-of/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [When women take off their corsets and heighten their skirts it always means high inflation and low morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/when-women-take-off-their-corsets-and-heighten-their-skirts-it-always/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Poor Englishwomen! When it comes to their clothes- well, the French reaction is a shrug, the Italian reaction a spreading of the hands and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/poor-englishwomen-when-it-comes-to-their-clothes-well-the-french/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [The same costume will be Indecent ten years before its time, Shameless five years before its time, Outre (daring) one year before its time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/the-same-costume-will-be-indecent-ten-years-before-its-time-shameless/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [When seen in retrospect, fashions seem to express their era. Although it is more difficult to draw conclusions from contemporary clothes, the same principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/when-seen-in-retrospect-fashions-seem-to-express-their-era-although/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Every style seems completely appropriate to its epoch. We cannot imagine Madame de Pompadour, or the Empress Josephine, or the early Victorian lady in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/every-style-seems-completely-appropriate-to-its-epoch-we-cannot/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Avisitor from Mars contemplating a man in a frock coat and top hat and a woman in a crinoline might well have supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/avisitor-from-mars-contemplating-a-man-in-a-frock-coat-and-top-hat/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) > [Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something, and that something is to a large extent outside the control of our conscious minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-always-mean-something-and-that/) [James Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) [Explore all 13 James Laver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/) ## More Clothes quotes > [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/) > [I don't own designer clothes, or a sports car, or a huge house, but I am seeing the world, experiencing amazing things, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/i-don-t-own-designer-clothes-or-a-sports-car-or-a-huge-house-but-i-am/) [Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I shot for French and British Vogue. The British Vogue one featured clothes by Chloe and was shot at Highgate and the John Soane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-shot-for-french-and-british-vogue-the-british-vogue-one-featured/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [I know my hair is out of the '60's, my clothes are '50's and the shoes I wear are from the '40's. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-know-my-hair-is-out-of-the-60-s-my-clothes-are-50-s-and-the-shoes-i/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [Don't get too excited, but I'm naked under these clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/don-t-get-too-excited-but-i-m-naked-under-these-clothes/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [My problems are sort of more on a nuisance level. I can't stand scratchy clothes, I've got to have soft kinds of cotton against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/my-problems-are-sort-of-more-on-a-nuisance-level-i-can-t-stand/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When I was a kid, my parents were happy to buy me clothes; they provided for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-wooster/when-i-was-a-kid-my-parents-were-happy-to-buy-me-clothes-they/) [Nick Wooster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-wooster/) > [It's very important to me that I look good when I go out publicly. I like looking at my clothes rack in the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wintour/it-s-very-important-to-me-that-i-look-good-when-i-go-out-publicly-i/) [Anna Wintour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wintour/) [Browse all 4,888 Clothes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Laver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-always-mean-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clothes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-always-mean-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/james-laver-35388_clothes_clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-alway_3132740.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something.” — James Laver", "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": "James Laver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Clothes are never a frivolity: they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-always-mean-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laver/clothes-are-never-a-frivolity-they-always-mean-something/#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 } } ] } ```