Fashion is a mirror, reflecting the culture.
— Bill Cunningham
Women have always been a good influence on me.
My family all thought I was a little nuts.
Money's the cheapest thing. Liberty and freedom is the most expensive.
If someone is wearing something terrific, that's what I want to photograph.
Legacy? I'm a worker in the factory; all we care about is today! A legacy... what a bunch of baloney.
Most of my pictures are never published. I just document things I think are important. For instance, I've documented the gay pride parade from its first days.
I don't pay attention to celebrities. I don't photograph them. They don't dress so... interestingly. They have stylists. I prefer real women who have their own taste.
The main thing I love about street photography is that you find the answers you don't see at the fashion shows. You find information for readers so they can visualize themselves.
The problem is I'm not a good photographer. To be perfectly honest, I'm too shy. Not aggressive enough. Well, I'm not aggressive at all. I just loved to see wonderfully dressed women, and I still do. That's all there is to it.
I took to New York life like a star shooting through the heavens.
I'm a zero.
I had always been interested in fashion.
There's nothing free. Stay independent and don't fall.
I'm not interested in celebrity.
I'm really not good with money, and I don't pay attention.
I made hats until I went into the Army. I was drafted during the Korean War.
The best fashion show is definitely on the street. Always has been, and always will be.
I go out every day. When I get depressed at the office, I go out, and as soon as I'm on the street and see people, I feel better. But I never go out with a preconceived idea. I let the street speak to me.
I let the streets talk to me. The streets speak to you - how you find out what's new, what people are wearing, what people aren't wearing.
Everybody else does work - I have too much fun.
When I'm photographing, I look for the personal style with which something is worn - sometimes even how an umbrella is carried or how a coat is held closed.
I just loved to see wonderfully dressed women, and I still do. That's all there is to it.
I could never concentrate on Sunday church services because I'd be concentrating on women's hats.
I go to different places all the time. And I try to be as discreet as I can. My whole thing is to be invisible. You get more natural pictures that way, too.
I came to New York in 1948 at 19, after one term at Harvard. Well, Harvard wasn't for me at all.
I'm not interested in celebrities, with their free dresses. I'm interested in clothes.
I started photographing people on the street during World War II. I used a little box Brownie. Nothing too expensive.