20 Accomplished Women Share How to Dress for Success

On having fun with fashion: "First and foremost, I wear what I love. That's what women have to focus on: what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion." — Michelle Obama, Vogue, February 2009

On inner beauty: "The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years." ― Audrey Hepburn

It may come as no surprise however that you can find the little black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's in this list of the most expensive dresses of all time.

On self expression: "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." ― Rachel Zoe

On faking it till you make it: "I design for the woman I wanted to be, the woman I used to be and to some degree, the woman I'm still a little piece of." ― Diane von Furstenberg

You may also like: 20 things successful women do every single day.

On dressing well: "Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman." ― Coco Chanel

How well do you know the iconic Coco Chanel? Test your knowledge with 13 things you never knew about Coco Chanel.

On clothes and confidence: "I have my problems, my issues with my looks. . . . I've always thought that if I frame it right, it'll be a little bit better — that I'll look just a little bit better than what I was given." ― Diane Keaton as told to Oprah, 2006

On inner beauty: "My biggest thing is to teach not to focus on the aesthetic. It's really about who you are, and the human being, that makes you beautiful." ― Beyonce

We've learned a lot from Queen Bey, like how to survive cheating and stay together, like her and Jay-Z.

On conformity: "Had I tried to fit in, Nasty Gal would have crashed and burned a long time ago. The last thing the world needs is another boring person or another boring brand, so embrace all the things that make you different. Alter your clothes all you want, but don't you dare alter your inner freak — she's got your back as much as I do." — Sophia Amoruso, #Girlboss

On shoes: "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." ― Marilyn Monroe

For more on the fashion that changed history, don't miss the most important style moments of the 20th century.

On dressing well: "If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better." ― Anna Wintour

On your best accessory: "When I don't feel confident, one tactic I've learned is that it sometimes helps to fake it. I discovered this when I was an aerobics instructor in the 1980s. Influenced by the gospel of Jane Fonda, aerobics also meant smiling solidly for a full hour. Some days, the smile came naturally. Other days, I was in a lousy mood and had to fake it. Yet after an hour of forced smiling, I often felt cheerful...Research backs up this 'fake it till you feel it strategy'."— Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead

You may also like: 10 books every female should read to get ahead.

On being happy in your own skin: I feel like I have been able to have a fun career and be an on-camera talent and be someone who has boyfriends and love interests and wears nice clothes and those kinds of things without having to be an emaciated stick. And it is possible to do it. In life, you don't have to be that way and you can have a great life, a fun life, and a fulfilling love life." ― Mindy Kaling, Teen Vogue

On girl power: “Clothes aren’t going to change the world, the women who wear them will.” ― Anne Klein

On what not to wear: “If you are a woman and you bought this book for practical tips on how to make it in a male-dominated workplace, here they are. No pigtails, no tube tops. Cry sparingly. (Some people say “Never let them see you cry.” I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone.)” ― Tina Fey, Bossypants

On women's fashion: "I like being a woman, even in a man’s world. After all, men can’t wear dresses, but we can wear the pants." ― Whitney Houston

On happiness: “When I design and wonder what the point is, I think of someone having a bad time in their life. Maybe they are sad and they wake up and put on something I have made and it makes them feel just a bit better. So, in that sense, fashion is a little help in the life of a person. But only a little.” ― Miuccia Prada

On true style: "The fashionable woman wears clothes. The clothes don't wear her." ― Mary Quant

On sparkle: "I'm just trying to change the world, one sequin at a time." ― Lady Gaga

On the importance of presentation: "I think that for many women in the public eye, it just seems that the burden is so heavy. We're doing a job that is not a celebrity job or an entertainment or fashion job.... In a professional setting, treat us as professionals.... [And] it takes a lot of time. I've often laughed with my male colleagues, like, "What did you do? You took a shower, you combed your hair, you put your clothes on. I couldn't do that." ― Hillary Clinton, Glamour, September 2014

On the power of clothes: "Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world's view of us." ― Virginia Woolf

Want more? Don't miss these outrageous celebrity makeovers you have to see to believe!