In a world where first impressions often hold significant weight, the intersection of appearance and perception plays a crucial role in shaping our interactions and experiences. Our perceptions of others—and even ourselves—are frequently influenced by outward appearances, leading to a fascinating exploration of how we interpret and assign value. This curated collection of 36 insightful quotes delves into the complex relationship between how we look and how we are perceived, offering wisdom from various perspectives and inviting reflection on the deeper truths behind our perceptions. Whether you're seeking inspiration or a deeper understanding of societal norms, these quotes provide a thoughtful journey into the nuances of appearance and perception.
1. “I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one.” - Marilyn Monroe
2. “The gaze of others is quite without indulgence for our defects and that of Mantegna is pitiless. I am grateful to him. Harshness, in the realm of the arts, is a virtue, and it is sometimes a good thing to see oneself as one is. My stupor, however, comes from the fact that people recognise me where I myself seem to see a stranger. This leads one to meditate more deeply on the matter. Are they dwelling on my superficial appearance rather than on what I really am? Who can say?” - Marie Ferranti
3. “For outward show is a wonderful perverter of the reason.” - Marcus Aurelius
4. “You're fun to look at," decided Galinda.Boq's face fell. "Fun?" he said.I'd give a lot to achieve fun," Elphaba said. "The best I usually hope for is stirring, and when people say that they're usually referring to digestion-” - Gregory Maguire
5. “While obsession with one’s personal appearance is a sign of being a vacant prat, total oblivion to it is a sign of mental illness.” - Kate Cann
6. “Nothing is more deceitful," said Darcy, "than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.” - Jane Austen
7. “Our lives are mere flashes of light in an infinitely empty universe. In 12 years of education the most important lesson I have learned is that what we see as “normal” living is truly a travesty of our potential. In a society so governed by superficiality, appearances, and petty economics, dreams are more real than anything anything in the “real world”. Refuse normalcy. Beauty is everywhere, love is endless, and joy bleeds from our everyday existence. Embrace it. I love all of you, all my friends, family, and community. I am ceaselessly grateful from the bottom of my heart for everyone. The only thing I can ask of you is to stay free of materialism. Remember that every day contains a universe of potential; exhaust it. Live and love so immensely that when death comes there is nothing left for him to take. Wealth is love, music, sports, learning, family and freedom. Above all, stay gold.” - Dominic Owen Mallary
8. “He had the appeal of a very young dog of a very large breed -- a kind of amiable absurdity.” - Dorothy L. Sayers
9. “Don't you know that I passionately dote on every chin on his face?” - Dorothy L. Sayers
10. “Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams.” - Murasaki Shikibu
11. “Shenanigans is a financial model on the catwalk.” - Toba Beta
12. “It was about a girl who helps an ugly old woman who turns out to be a good fairy in disguise. Inner values versus shallow appearances.” - Connie Willis
13. “Your appearance, attitude, and confidence define you as a person.A professional, well-dressed golfer, like a businessperson, gives the impression that he thinks that the golf course and/or workplace and the people there are important.” - Lorii Myers
14. “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones” - Helena Rubinstein
15. “What’s more, his faded old jeans hugged his ass perfectly as he stepped forward to toss a ring, and then they loosened as he stepped back. Hug, loosen, hug, loosen, hug, hug…hug…loosen. Jeans all perfectly rumpled right down to his dull, black boots. No doubt he chose those jeans specifically for their butt-hugging abilities. He probably practiced that hug-promoting movement in the mirror.” - Carolyn Crane
16. “Where's the use of looking nice, when no one sees me but those cross midgets, and no one cares whether I'm pretty or not?” - Louisa May Alcott
17. “When I propose a candidate for a job I don't do it because the person in question is the best but because he is the one the client will employ. I provide them with a head that is good enough, placed on a body they want. [...] The world is full of people who pay serious money for bad pictures by good artists. And mediocre heads on tall bodies.” - Jo Nesbo
18. “Women have face-lifts in a society in which women without them appear to vanish from sight.” - Naomi Wolf
19. “I say every dog looks like no otherbut that isn't true. Not entirely.Difference is slippery.” - Mary Jo Bang
20. “She was the quintessential twenty-first-century woman: She could build a high-rise in a Chanel suit and Jimmy Choos, give lessons in multitasking, and freeze the heart of the coldest competitor with a single unblinking gaze over the rim of her ebony-framed reading glasses. But that persona was like a bodysuit that she pulled on at eight in the morning and peeled out of at five in the afternoon.” - Donna Ball
21. “Our shoes carry our body, so we polish them; our body carries our soul, so we clean the body, but, what about our soul”?” - Rahul Rampal
22. “A single change can sometimes change your entire life” - Rahul Rampal
23. “... But then again, a person could turn ugly. Their actual look could change when their actions were repulsive.” - Deb Caletti
24. “She and Effie were already putting on their turtle-and-hare show. Everyone paid lots of attention to Lena at first, because she was striking to look at, but within a few hours or days, they always fully committed their attentions to exuberant, affectionate Effie. Lena felt Effie deserved it. Lena was an introvert. She knew she had trouble connecting with people. She always felt like her looks were fake bait, seeming to offer a bridge to people, which she couldn’t easily cross.” - Ann Brashares
25. “A face stared up at her from the mirror beside her hand. Was that really what she looked like? Was that really what she looked like, all sharp lines and huge silver-grey eyes? Certainly, no one would ever call those features beautiful, Jame thought ruefully; but were they really enough like a boy's to have fooled that old man the alley? Well, maybe with that long black hair out of sight under a cap. It was a very young face and a defiant one, she thought with a odd sense of detachment, but frightened, too. And those extraordinary eyes... what memories lived in them that she could not share? Stranger, where have you been she asked silently. What have you seen? The thin lips locked in their secrets."Ahhh!" Jame said in sudden disgust, tossing away the mirror. Fool, to be obsessed with a past she couldn't even remember. But it was all behind her now.” - P.C. Hodgell
26. “Since nothing is absolute There is no absolute silence, Only an appearance Of temporary peace.” - Dejan Stojanovic
27. “But -- my dear, my heart is BROKEN! I have seen the perfect Peter Wimsey. Height, voice, charm, smile, manner, outline of features, everything -- and he is -- THE CHAPLAIN OF BALLIOL!! What is the use of anything? ...I am absolutely shattered by this Balliol business. Such waste -- why couldn't he have been an actor?” - Dorothy L. Sayers
28. “It dawned upon everybody that Aggie, at perhaps a hundred and sixty pounds and five feet nine and a half, was, as Beth later said, 'dynamite in the physical culture department.” - Philip Wylie
29. “Say what you want, princess. You are a recipe for premature ejaculation, if I’ve ever seen one.” - Rosanna Leo
30. “Not at all. It's why people come. They say it's about looking smart, or beautiful, or professional, but it's not. Gray-haired ladies try to recapture their former brunette. Brunettes want to go blond. Other women go for colors that don't arise innature. Each group thinks it's completely different than the others, but I don't see it that way. I've watched them looking at themselves in the mirror, and they're not interested in conforming or rebelling, they just want to walk out of here feeling like themselves again.” - Antony John
31. “There is more to someone being lovable than the way they look.” - Cassandra Clare
32. “Cucullus non facit monachum; that’s as much to say, as I wear not motley in my brain.” - William Shakespeare
33. “People tolerate a lot for looks. They tolerate much less for plainness.” - Donna Lynn Hope
34. “When you're the only sane person, you look like the only insane person.” - Criss Jami
35. “Committing to Nick, feeling safe with Nick, being happy with Nick, made me realize that there was a Real Amy in there, and she was so much better, more interesting and complicated and challenging, than Cool Amy. Nick wanted Cool Amy anyway. Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you? So that’s how the hating first began. I’ve thought about this a lot, and that’s where it started, I think.” - Gillian Flynn
36. “Absolute trust in the reality of things begins to be shaken as the problem of truth enters upon the scene. The moment man ceases merely to live in and with reality and demands a knowledge of this reality, he moves into a new and fundamentally different relation to it. At first, to be sure, the question of truth seems to apply only to particular parts and not to the whole of reality. Within this whole different strata of validity begin to be marked off, reality seems to separate sharply from appearance. But it lies in the very nature of the problem of truth that once it arises it never comes to rest. The concept of truth conceals an immanent dialectic that drives it inexorably forward, forever extending its limits.” - Ernst Cassirer
