--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest style is when you can't see…" description: "\"The greatest style is when you can't see the style though you walk away knowing it was there. It's like a perfume - there but not there.\" — Robert Benton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/robert-benton-21053_fashion_the-greatest-style-is-when-you-can-t-see_1466847.png" --- # The greatest style is when you can't see the style though… ![“The greatest style is when you can't see the style though you walk away knowing it was there. It's like a perfume - there but not there.” quote by Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/robert-benton-21053_fashion_the-greatest-style-is-when-you-can-t-see_1466847.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/robert-benton-21053_fashion_the-greatest-style-is-when-you-can-t-see_1466847.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/robert-benton-21053_fashion_the-greatest-style-is-when-you-can-t-see_1466847.png) > “The greatest style is when you can't see the style though you walk away knowing it was there. It's like a perfume - there but not there.” [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True style is subtle, invisible, yet unmistakably present, like a scent you sense but cannot see. **In simple terms:** Great style is felt, not flaunted. Key Takeaway Cultivate understated elegance. Themes style subtlety confidence Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - daily wardrobe choices - interpersonal interactions - creative work Key Concepts aesthetic minimalism personal branding Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance subtlety with clarity? - When does understated style become invisible? A Different Perspective Over‑subtlety may be misread as lack of effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Greatest Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-style-5312585/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Like Perfume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-perfume-377770/) [Perfume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfume/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Style Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style-style-686332/) [Style Walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style-walk-5312586/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [This perfume was not like any perfume known before. It was not a scent that made things smell better... it was completely new, capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-s-skind/this-perfume-was-not-like-any-perfume-known-before-it-was-not-a-scent/) [Patrick Süskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-s-skind/) > [Sweet praise is like perfume. It is fine if you don't swallow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/sweet-praise-is-like-perfume-it-is-fine-if-you-don-t-swallow-it/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Polls are like perfume-nice to smell, dangerous to swallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/polls-are-like-perfume-nice-to-smell-dangerous-to-swallow/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Music at times is more like perfume than mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/music-at-times-is-more-like-perfume-than-mathematics/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [A story can fly like a bee, so straight and swift you catch only the hum of its passing. Or move so slowly it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/a-story-can-fly-like-a-bee-so-straight-and-swift-you-catch-only-the/) [Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/) > [Happiness is like a perfume, you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-like-a-perfume-you-cannot-pour-on-others-without-getting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Prosperity is like perfume, it often makes the head ache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/prosperity-is-like-perfume-it-often-makes-the-head-ache/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) > [Cubism is not a reality you can take in your hand. It's more like a perfume, in front of you, behind you, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/cubism-is-not-a-reality-you-can-take-in-your-hand-it-s-more-like-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I think allure is something around you, like a perfume or like a scent. It's like a memory ... it pervades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/i-think-allure-is-something-around-you-like-a-perfume-or-like-a-scent/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/beauty-is-an-ecstasy-it-is-as-simple-as-hunger-there-is-really/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Dignity is like a perfume; those who use it are scarcely conscious of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dignity-is-like-a-perfume-those-who-use-it-are-scarcely-conscious-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no women who do not like perfume, there are women who have not found their scent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/there-are-no-women-who-do-not-like-perfume-there-are-women-who-have/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [I like perfume and flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/i-like-perfume-and-flowers/) [Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/) > [“...her melancholy mood had followed her home. It clung to her like perfume, filling the rooms she visited with the scent of loss. Surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-k-ackers/her-melancholy-mood-had-followed-her-home-it-clung-to-her-like/) [Elise K. Ackers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-k-ackers/) > [“The snow wears moonlight like perfume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-murdoch/the-snow-wears-moonlight-like-perfume/) [Emily Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-murdoch/) ## More by Robert Benton > [Style tells you a lot more about the truth than substance, because it comes at the truth in an oblique way, it comes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/style-tells-you-a-lot-more-about-the-truth-than-substance-because-it/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [I couldn't sit down and write a novel or a short story - even now - because of my dyslexia. But I learned narration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/i-couldn-t-sit-down-and-write-a-novel-or-a-short-story-even-now/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [I was dyslexic as a child and it took me years to get passed that. I read a lot but it was hard and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/i-was-dyslexic-as-a-child-and-it-took-me-years-to-get-passed-that-i/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [Style lasts forever and taste doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/style-lasts-forever-and-taste-doesn-t/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [My education was an education by movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/my-education-was-an-education-by-movies/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [All my life I've felt like somebody's wife, or somebody's mother or somebody's daughter. 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It's about love when you reach a certain age; nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/twilight-is-about-getting-older-and-relationships-not-about-a-murder/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [Movie narration in the forties was radically different than the narrative involved in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/movie-narration-in-the-forties-was-radically-different-than-the/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [New York was big enough and wide enough that it allowed for reasonably eccentric people like me to thrive. It was a perfect place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/new-york-was-big-enough-and-wide-enough-that-it-allowed-for/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [There was a kind of cultural life in New York that wasn't as solidified as it is now, it wasn't as money-driven. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/there-was-a-kind-of-cultural-life-in-new-york-that-wasn-t-as/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [Sometimes other people have better ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/sometimes-other-people-have-better-ideas/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [I'd like to know what law is it that says that a woman is a better parent, simply by virtue of her sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/i-d-like-to-know-what-law-is-it-that-says-that-a-woman-is-a-better/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [Although I had a few jobs that I didn't like, or quit, or got fired from, I really loved New York from the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/although-i-had-a-few-jobs-that-i-didn-t-like-or-quit-or-got-fired/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [In America, people rarely stay in the town where they grew up, rarely stay in close proximity to their parents throughout their lives. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/in-america-people-rarely-stay-in-the-town-where-they-grew-up-rarely/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) [Explore all 30 Robert Benton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) ## 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": "The greatest style is when you can't see the style though you walk away knowing it was there. 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