June 2nd, 2026

In Praise of Modesty

“Style is to see beauty in modesty.”

Andrée Putman (French Production Designer; December 23rd, 1925 to January 19th, 2013)

“Meditate on modesty for a moment. What if she isn’t the self-effacing, shy, retiring, nerdy virtue we’ve thought she is? What if Modesty is really passion restrained? What if modesty is a virtue so full of her own smoldering sense of self that she isn’t distracted by the glitz?”

“…the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.”

Oliver Herford (American Writer & Illustrator; December 2nd, 1860 to July 5th, 1935)

“People with an authentic style know what they are, but even more important, they know what they are not. They don’t care about labels. They care about personal expression.”

“I definitely know who I am not. However, this still leaves me a bit a loss to my style.”

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–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 191 to 192 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.