'Don't hide yourself': Donna Karan's fashion wisdom, in seven easy pieces

NEW YORK -- Donna Karan introduced her famous Seven Easy Pieces in 1985, as she was introducing the world to her namesake label.

Based on a black bodysuit with simple added pieces such as a wrap skirt, classic trousers or a suede jacket, it was more than a convenient wardrobe: It was a conceptual shift in fashion.

It's a time of great transition for Karan, 67. In the summer, she announced she was stepping down from her signature Donna Karan collection to focus fully on her Urban Zen company and foundation.

What's more, she has a memoir coming out this month -- "My Journey," a volume chock full of personal anecdotes.

Here are Seven Pieces of Wisdom from a pillar of American fashion.

Fashion designer Donna Karan poses during an interview in New York. Karan has a memoir coming out this month, "My Journey," a volume chock full of personal, entertaining anecdotes. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

1. Fashion is about dressing -- and addressing.

"When Donna Karan started, I felt there was a really enormous need for women to be addressed as women. Because they were either wearing men's clothes ... or they were the ladies who lunched. So who was really expressing the working woman? She was just not being addressed."

2. Clothes need to work all day and night.

"I wanted clothes that could go from the minute I got up in the morning to the minute I went to bed at night. I wanted clothes to go through that whole cycle, because I found that I didn't have time to go home and change."

3. Shoulders never gain weight, so show them.

Fashion designer Donna Karan poses during an interview in New York. Karan has a memoir coming out next week, "My Journey," a volume chock full of personal, entertaining anecdotes. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

"I remember Women's Wear Daily really did not like my cold-shoulder look (exposed shoulders, covered arms). ... For me, the cold shoulder was so obvious. It is the only place where women never gain weight. You gain weight every other place on your body except on your shoulders."

4. It's great to have fans in high places.

"One of my dearest friends, Barbra Streisand, wears the clothes magnificently. I've dressed her for practically every concert she's ever done. And I've always said that we worked together on it. It was a 'We,' not a 'Me.' We designed it together. And certainly when I designed her wedding dress, that was the ultimate for me."

5. Don't hide yourself

"You know, a woman has a certain point of view about the way she can dress. And what I did was, I threw that a little bit to the side. Like pencil skirts. I love women in pencil skirts. No matter if they're a little bigger on the bottom, they're better in a pencil skirt because it narrows them out. Women don't really understand that: They think the bigger the clothes, the more they hide."

This book cover image released by Ballantine Books shows "My Journey," a memoir by fashion designer Donna Karan. (Ballantine Books via AP)

6. We all need a deadline

"Putting on four (Fashion Week) shows a year? It is a lot of work. It's exhausting. But at the same time, it's a high. So when you're in the zone, it's an adrenaline rush. And then you crash. That's a guarantee. But I always felt, 'Oh my gosh, if just had one more week, two more weeks, three more weeks.' But a deadline is a deadline. And that's what brought me into the next season."

7. Creativity is great, but fashion needs to produce clothes you actually can wear.

"I think it's much more difficult to work in fashion today than when I started. Fashion is going at warp speed -- What's new? What's new? ... There's so much to handle, and (the clothes) really do take on each person's individuality ... . But I think we're also pushing the limit of what a woman can actually wear."