You’re only as good as your last haircut.

Meaning of the quote

This quote suggests that people often judge you based on your current appearance, rather than your overall abilities or past accomplishments. It means that no matter how skilled or talented you are, if your most recent haircut doesn't look good, some people may think less of you. The quote is a humorous way of saying that small things, like your hairstyle, can have a big impact on how others perceive you.

About Fran Lebowitz

Fran Lebowitz is an American author, public speaker, and actor known for her sardonic social commentary on American life through her New York City sensibilities. She gained fame for her books and has been the subject of several documentary projects, including ones directed by Martin Scorsese.

More about the author

More quotes from Fran Lebowitz

In the Soviet Union, capitalism triumphed over communism. In this country, capitalism triumphed over democracy.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

I must take issue with the term ‘a mere child,’ for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Never relinquish clothing to a hotel valet without first specifically telling him that you want it back.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

You can’t go around hoping that most people have sterling moral characters. The most you can hope for is that people will pretend that they do.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

I never took hallucinogenic drugs because I never wanted my consciousness expanded one unnecessary iota.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

You’re only as good as your last haircut.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

I never met anyone who didn’t have a very smart child. What happens to these children, you wonder, when they reach adulthood?

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

I place a high moral value on the way people behave. I find it repellent to have a lot, and to behave with anything other than courtesy in the old sense of the word – politeness of the heart, a gentleness of the spirit.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during algebra. In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Scientists – the crowd that for dash and style make the general public look like the Bloomsbury set.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

My favorite animal is steak.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Andy Warhol made fame more famous.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Polite conversation is rarely either.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

My desire to curtail undue freedom of speech extends only to such public areas as restaurants, airports, streets, hotel lobbies, parks, and department stores. Verbal exchanges between consenting adults in private are as of little interest to me as they probably are to them.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Romantic love is mental illness. But it’s a pleasurable one. It’s a drug. It distorts reality, and that’s the point of it. It would be impossible to fall in love with someone that you really saw.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

The conversational overachiever is someone whose grasp exceeds his reach. This is possible but not attractive.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Life is something to do when you can’t get to sleep.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

If you are of the opinion that the contemplation of suicide is sufficient evidence of a poetic nature, do not forget that actions speak louder than words.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

If you’re going to America, bring your own food.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater suggest that he wear a tail.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Don’t bother discussing sex with small children. They rarely have anything to add.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

To put it rather bluntly, I am not the type who wants to go back to the land; I am the type who wants to go back to the hotel.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Your life story would not make a good book. Don’t even try.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Humility is no substitute for a good personality.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he’s buying.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Do not, on a rainy day, ask your child what he feels like doing, because I assure you that what he feels like doing, you won’t feel like watching.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

I’ve done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Contrary to popular opinion, the hustle is not a new dance step – it is an old business procedure.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

All God’s children are not beautiful. Most of God’s children are, in fact, barely presentable.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Remember that as a teenager you are in the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear the phone is for you.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Radio news is bearable. This is due to the fact that while the news is being broadcast, the disk jockey is not allowed to talk.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

I figure you have the same chance of winning the lottery whether you play or not.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Calling a taxi in Texas is like calling a rabbi in Iraq.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

The telephone is a good way to talk to people without having to offer them a drink.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Nothing succeeds like address.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Designer clothes worn by children are like snowsuits worn by adults. Few can carry it off successfully.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Being a woman is of special interest only to aspiring male transsexuals. To actual women, it is simply a good excuse not to play football.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Having been unpopular in high school is not just cause for book publications.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

There is no such thing as inner peace. There is only nervousness or death. Any attempt to prove otherwise constitutes unacceptable behavior.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

Children are the most desirable opponents at scrabble as they are both easy to beat and fun to cheat.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)

If you are truly serious abut preparing your child for the future, don’t teach him to subtract teach him to deduct.

Fran Lebowitz

American author and public speaker (b. 1950)