Tasha Tudor > Quotes

“Why do women want to dress like men when they’re fortunate enough to be women? Why lose femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get more accomplished by being charming than we would be flaunting around in pants and smoking. I’m very fond of men. I think they are wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don’t want to look like one. When women gave up their long skirts, they made a grave error…”
― Tasha Tudor

“There is no peace that cannot be found in the present moment.”
― Tasha Tudor

“I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare.”
― Tasha Tudor

“Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!”
― Tasha Tudor

“You should see my corgis at sunset in the snow. It's their finest hour. About five o'clock they glow like copper. Then they come in and lie in front of the fire like a string of sausages.”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“I enjoy solitude. It's probably selfish, but why bother about it. Life is much too important, as Oscar Wilde said, to be taken seriously. I feel so sorry for those mothers who are devastated by loneliness when their children fly the coop and don't want to live at home anymore. They feel lost, but look what exciting things can be done. Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“Daffodils are an optimistic flower, and foolproof. You know what Shakespeare said:
"Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty."

...I plant them in big clumps with a trusty shovel. I make several large holes all around and put quite a few in. That's why it makes such a spectacular look when they bloom.”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“Why do women want to dress like men when they’re fortunate enough to be women? Why lose our femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get much more accomplished by being charming than we would by flaunting around in pants and smoking. I’m very fond of men. I think they’re wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don’t want to look like one. When women gave up their long skirts, they made a grave error. Things half seen are so much more mysterious and delightful. Remember the term “a neatly turned ankle”? Think of the thrill that gentleman used to get if they caught even a glimpse of one. Now women go around in their union suits. And what a multitude of sins you could cover up with a long skirt if you had piano legs.”
― Tasha Tudor

“It's exciting to see things coming up again, plants that you've had twenty or thirty years. It's like seeing an old friend.”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“When I'm working in the barn or house I often think of all the errors I've made in my life. But then I quickly put that behind me and think of water lilies. They will always eradicate unpleasant thoughts. Or goslings are equally comforting in their own way.”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionnaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare.”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“What really got me thinking about illustrating children's books was I discovered Hugh Thompson's illustrations for The Vicar of Wakefield in my mother's library and I looked at it and said, 'That's what I'm going to do.”
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

“She (Emily Dickinson) loved simplicity, and perhaps withdrrew into seclusion because it was the simplest way of doing what she wanted to do; express her ideas and thoughts in poetry which no one whom she knew would understand. This was as natural to her as breathing, but the pretense of the people around her seemed unnatural.”
― Tasha Tudor, The New England Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook: Receipts for Very Special Occasions

“Hummingbirds and flowers go together like summertime and fireflies; like rainbows and sunshine.”
― Tasha Tudor, The New England Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook: Receipts for Very Special Occasions

“Larkspur lifting turquoise spires
Bluer than the sorcerer's fires.”
― Tasha Tudor, The New England Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook: Receipts for Very Special Occasions