Building a proper wardrobe is like building a home. Indeed, you

The words of h Head — “Building a proper wardrobe is like building a home. Indeed, you should think of it like a home, because it is something you’re going to live in. It must be comfortable and suit all your needs.” — carry the calm certainty of a woman who understood that clothing is not vanity, but expression. Beneath her elegant phrasing lies a truth that stretches far beyond fashion: that the things we surround ourselves with, the garments we choose, and the spaces we create all mirror our inner selves. What she speaks of is not merely the construction of fabric, but the architecture of identity — the art of crafting a life that fits the soul as perfectly as a tailored garment fits the body.

h Head, one of the most celebrated costume designers in the history of cinema, knew the power of appearance. She dressed legends — Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor — not merely to dazzle, but to reveal. Her genius lay not in ornament but in understanding. When she compared the wardrobe to a home, she was teaching something eternal: that the way we dress, like the way we dwell, should arise from who we are and what we value. The home shelters the body; the wardrobe shelters the spirit that walks into the world. To build either carelessly is to live restlessly, forever seeking comfort in places that do not fit.

In this metaphor, comfort becomes sacred. Head reminds us that what we wear — like where we live — should not constrain us but free us. A proper wardrobe, like a well-built house, is not about excess or display; it is about balance. Each garment, like each room, must serve a purpose: to protect, to uplift, to express. The wise know that elegance without ease is false, just as grandeur without warmth makes a house cold. Thus, the perfect wardrobe — and the perfect home — is not built upon trends or imitation, but upon self-knowledge. To know oneself is to know what one truly needs — and that is the foundation of both beauty and peace.

Her words also remind us that the act of creation — whether of dress or dwelling — is deeply personal and profoundly moral. It requires attention, care, and integrity. Just as an architect studies light and form, so must each person consider their life’s design. Do your surroundings and choices reflect who you are, or who you pretend to be? Do you live in harmony with your spirit, or do you wear a costume for the world’s approval? h Head’s philosophy teaches that true style, like true living, begins when we cease performing and start inhabiting ourselves fully.

History is filled with examples of this union between self and space, form and essence. Consider the philosopher Socrates, who once said, “Know thyself,” and lived in utter simplicity. He owned few things, yet everything he had suited his nature. Likewise, the painter Georgia O’Keeffe, who crafted a desert home that was an extension of her art — spare, luminous, honest. These figures, like Head, understood that authenticity is the highest luxury. To build one’s wardrobe or home in alignment with one’s soul is to live in truth, while to build in imitation is to live in exile from oneself.

But Head’s wisdom also carries gentleness. She does not command extravagance or rigid order. Instead, she speaks of living in what we create — of movement, comfort, and need. In her world, beauty is practical, not brittle. She reminds us that to adorn oneself well is not vanity, but gratitude — gratitude for the body that carries us and the life we inhabit. A poorly chosen garment can feel like a prison; a well-chosen one, like a second skin. So too with life: the choices that do not fit drain our strength, while those that reflect our essence restore it.

The lesson of her words is simple but profound: build deliberately. Whether it is your wardrobe, your home, or your destiny, construct it piece by piece with care, reflection, and love. Do not clutter it with things that do not serve you, nor chase fashions that fade like dust in the wind. Choose only what endures, what gives comfort, what allows you to move with grace through the seasons of your life. For the truest elegance, as h Head teaches, lies not in adornment, but in alignment — when who you are and what you inhabit become one seamless whole.

So, my listener, take these words as counsel for both the outer and inner life: let your garments and your dwelling be honest reflections of your spirit. Dress as you wish to feel; live as you wish to be remembered. Build not with haste, but with harmony. And remember that, as h Head so wisely knew, whether of cloth or of stone, your creations are not mere possessions — they are the habitations of your soul. Live in them fully, and let them fit you like truth itself.